Avengers Mk II
by rio95000
Summary: Post-movie. The Avengers have settled into life as a team, but there are more complicated things to deal with than some random aliens. Meanwhile, two Russian agents are making their way to Stark Tower to find their 'rogue' parents. Will feature all of the Avengers.
1. Chapter 1

"You are both almost ready," the pacing trainer purred. "Not too much longer, and you will finally reach your purpose."

Agents 1392 and 1393 didn't move. They had been doing this for far too long to let anything, even a mention of their life-long goal, to distract them. Their eyes didn't even follow the trainer as he crossed the room in front of them.

"Calling the shots," the trainer said, motioning towards the visible targets scattered across the rear of the room. More would appear as the exercise went on. There were two different figures represented, and both Agents trained with them regularly.

Both agents nodded.

"10m, 0100," said Agent 1392. His silenced handgun barely shook as the target crumpled.

"12m, 1130," matched Agent 1393 with her first knife.

"15m, 0400."

A figure swung out from the floor, but Agent 1393 didn't miss a beat. "25m, 1000."

The two fell into a rapid cadence, demolishing everything that appeared.

Part way through the exercise, they both heard the tread of someone entering the room from behind them.

"As always Agents: tell me, why are you here?" he growled.

Agent 1392 answered as he took his shot. "Our parents were agents before us, sir."

"They were a credit to their trainers and the organisation," Agent 1393 continued. Both of them were speaking out of habit – focusing as little on the words as they were the two men in the room with them. Targets were still falling in front of them.

"But they defected to the enemy," scowled 1392.

"Let us behind in an exploded shell of a building," snapped 1393.

"And sold all our secrets to terrorists who used it to hurt innocent civilians."

"So what are you going to do?" the man asked softly.

"We will find them."

"Both of them."

"And finally avenge everything they have done to us,"

"And everyone else they have betrayed," said 1392, as he took out the last of the targets and lowered his gun.

"Hopefully, exactly like you do their target replicas," the trainer said, walking back to the end of the room. "All hits… wait, except this one that didn't come out properly."

Everyone saw a single target still lying on the floor, waiting to be pushed up.

"That will be dealt with," said the other man. "What about the rest?"

"All head shots," said the trainer.

The man behind 1392 and 1393 sounded pleased. "Soon you will be able to go after them. You are almost ready."

"When sir?" risked 1393. "We have waited our entire lives to make up for our parents' treason."

"Soon," he said simply, and left the room.

"I wish they weren't our parents, Luka" 1393 said, once the door had been shut behind the trainer.

1392 shrugged. "Think of them only as biological influences then, Aleks. That's what I do."

Aleksandra wandered over to the target that was still lying down. In the next room, they both heard the sound of the technician being punished for his incompetence.

Luka put his hand on his sisters' shoulder. "Not much longer, Aleks. And then they won't be anything anymore."

Aleks' eyes never left the target, but she nodded. "Traitor," she spat, and kicked out at the fallen target.

It wasn't her problem.

This cut-out of Clint Barton could wait until their next session.


	2. Chapter 2

Aleksandra could never be sure if the glares she and her brother received as they walked down the hall from the other operatives were due to their status at the top of the rankings or because of the identity of their parents. Black Widow and Hawkeye were well known to all the residents of the training compound, and all the operatives they had come into contact with so far on different missions. When they were younger Luka and Aleksandra had to prove themselves to some of the older trainees, to show that they weren't like the two former agents.

This was made even harder as they grew – physically the resemblance was clear. Luka had his father's hair and eyes, but his slimmer face and frame resembled his mother; Aleksandra's face and build was closer to their father, except for her hair which was red-ish and slightly curly like their mother.

"You're brooding on them again, Leksi," Luka grinned down at her.

Aleks rolled her eyes at her childhood nickname. He knew she preferred Aleks. "Can't help it, Luka."

He shrugged. "I suppose it's not a bad thing – they're getting closer."

The two of them entered their room and started cleaning and shelving their equipment. Luka favoured his handguns, but was more than adequate with knives in close quarters; whereas Aleks used her knives for throwing and preferred a long distance rifle with a scope. She remembered the trainers trying her on a bow and arrow, bizarrely, at one point years ago, but she was never at a high enough standard to use it now.

"So with all your brooding," Luka started again. "Have you come up with a new plan?"

He had always insisted that Aleks was better at strategising than he was; it was like she could anticipate all the outcomes of a situation and provide a solution. Aleks wasn't about to disagree with him, but thought that Luka seemed to react instinctively in the heat of the moment. That was their usual arrangement: Aleks would find a place to observe from a distance, and Luka was take the close in position.

"Still haven't got a better one than our twelfth birthday'," she grinned. For years it had been a personal challenge to come up with a new way to take out their parents, each more involved than the last. For their twelfth birthday, they had devised a ploy that used an inflatable raft, vodka and a clown mask – needless to say it bordered on insanity but it was something to laugh about amidst the training and isolation that they found themselves in.

Luka chuckled, but it didn't last long. "Still think the trickiest part is going to be finding them."

The trainers had refused to give them any information on their parent's whereabouts, explaining that they didn't want the temptation to go after them to be there until Luka and Aleks were ready.

Now it was Aleks's turn to shrug. "If they're professional spies it shouldn't be easy. I imagine we'll have to work pretty hard to find anyone who knows them."


	3. Chapter 3

"Another solid effort, Avengers," Captain America said as he led his team through the Helicarrier towards the bridge.

"I'm not sure that's what Fury will say," quipped Hawkeye. "What was that thing about the hamster, Stark?" He grinned at Iron Man, and could feel the Black Widow smiling inside with him.

"Just because you were cloistered in some cave in the Andes and missed the whole _Hamster Dance_ phase, Feathers, doesn't mean the rest of us did," the man in the iron suit answered.

"We can only wish you missed _Gangnam Style_ in a similar fashion," the archer shot back.

"Let's pretend we haven't just spent 3 hours stuck together in an airborne tin can and then we can continue this exceedingly witty repartee," groaned Dr Banner.

"I must confess I am confused," said Thor.

The Widow rolled her eyes. "Tony and Clint were trying to see how many pop culture references they could cram into a single conversation, and that was Bruce's way of telling them to shut up," she said.

"You haven't heard the start of my references," Tony said.

"Always the last word," Clint put in, and everyone groaned.

"We had the 'last word' contest on the plane ride out," said Steve firmly. "I win this one, because we're here."

"Well, that's what you..." Tony started, but the rest of the team practically jumped him to stop him from finishing.

And this scene was what Agent Hill encountered when she opened the door to tell the Avengers Director Fury was ready to debrief them. They had insisted on still calling it that, even after Thor had gotten confused and the rest of the team had found a way to use the word as often as possible.

The Avengers scrambled to stand up and make themselves presentable.

"Ma'am," said the Captain as he stepped past her, and Hill marvelled at his ability to keep a straight face. The others were less collected, but followed with a few mumbled comments she didn't want to try and decipher.

-ooo-

The debriefing team meeting went relatively smoothly, and they were just getting ready to leave the bridge when Fury held up a hand.

"I'm afraid that's not all for today," he said smoothly, and pulled up new information on the table screen.

"Isn't a rest break mandatory after physical missions?" Tony asked. "I mean, I'm assuming you could see what we were doing. Or did you forget to turn?"

Surprisingly, the Director let the jab at his eyesight slide. That, if nothing else, told them all how serious this was going to get.

"Professor Pierce Henderson," he said, pointing to the screen. A photo of a small man with wisps of dark hair appeared. He looked like most of the other scientists at S.H.I.E.L.D.: glasses, lab coat and pocket protector. "Major field is genetics and biomechanical experimentation. His thesis explored the possibilities of creating super soldiers without resorting to serums or radiation; instead he wanted to select agents based on their genetic makeup."

Bruce suddenly found his fingernails absolutely fascinating, but Steve kept his eyes on Fury.

"He wasn't trying to create a 'super race', was he?" he asked with steel in his voice.

Fury didn't hesitate. "Nothing like that, Captain. We understood it was more about assigning agents certain roles because of specific, in-built capabilities."

"Like giving agents with higher oxygen levels in their blood mission at higher altitudes, I suppose," Tony put in, and Fury nodded.

"Is Henderson one of ours?" Clint asked quietly.

"He was."

"Was..." Tony left his question unsaid.

"Five years ago, we discovered that Henderson wasn't just examining DNA, but was experimenting with altering it."

Bruce had taken a closer look at the written information. "It says here he was splicing different strands together to try and compound the 'advantages'."

Fury nodded. "And so we kicked him out of S.H.I.E.L.D., made sure he ended up in some backwater town somewhere and gave a pair of rookie agents the job of keeping tabs on his activities."

When no one said any more after a beat, Steve prompted. "So why are we here now?"

Hill stepped back into frame. "Three years ago, Henderson dropped off the grid. We've kept our eyes and ears open, but it was only three days ago that he appeared again."

A new photo popped up on the screen. It was some sort of lab, mostly white except for the two blood splatters surrounding the two bodies on the floor.

Fury took over. "Henderson was found dead alongside a Russian scientist, by the name of Dimitri Vasilov."

Clint felt Natasha clench next to him, but no one else seemed to notice.

"We've only just begun searching through all their files, but it seems that Henderson had been communicating with Vasilov for nearly two decades."

"You had a mole that long and you didn't notice?"

Fury took a deep breath, but still didn't react to Stark's prodding. "Henderson had been sending his tests to Vasilov, and Vasilov was using those results in ways that we don't allow in the United States."

"And so when you pushed Henderson out, he could hand those tests to Vasilov himself," Steve finishes.

"This is a fascinating story, Director," Tony said far too politely, "But this isn't a mission you'd call the Avengers in for. Me and Bruce, maybe, but why do you want all of us? No offence, guys."

Clint shrugged, but he wondered if Natasha was even mentally in the room with them anymore. She knew this Vasilov, he was sure of it.

"This isn't a mission, Stark," Fury was saying. "It's worse. Much worse. We're not totally sure that Henderson was alone in using S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities and intel, so for now we're assuming nothing. This doesn't leave this room, understand?"

At their nods he continued. "What we have gathered from the files thus far is that Henderson didn't just send test results to Vasilov. He sent samples of agents' DNA, samples that he had identified as having certain capabilities worth exploring further. Captain, Thor, you are obviously safe because of your late arrival to the table. Stark, you would never let anyone get a hold on your DNA so you're safe too. But Doctor Banner, we can't be sure that he didn't get a hold of some of yours from the army, so you need to be prepared."

Bruce looked pale. "One of me is too many."

Tony was ready to dispute that, but the Director took in another deep breath, and turned to the final two team members.

"Barton, unfortunately we know he has – had – some of yours." Clint nodded, but didn't say anything.

Fury didn't look like he was going to continue, so Steve took matters into his own hands. "What about Agent Romanoff, Director?"

Natasha finally looked up from the table. "Henderson didn't need to get my DNA from S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain. Dimitri Vasilov still would still have had it from the Red Room."


	4. Chapter 4

_Natasha finally looked up from the table. "Henderson didn't need to get my DNA from S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain. Dimitri Vasilov still would still have had it from the Red Room."_

The meeting quietly broke off after Natasha's revelation – Agent Hill and Director Fury were called away for a different crisis, Tony and Bruce kept going over the reams of data coming in from Russia, and Steve could see Clint and Natasha having another detailed conversation through eyebrows and mouth twitches. He turned to Thor.

"What say we go spend some time in the gym?"

Thor looked puzzled, so Steve tried to take a leaf out of Terrible Two-some's (Tony's nickname for Hawkeye and the Black Widow) book and tell him silently. Or telepathically.

Thor still wasn't getting it, so Steve sighed. "The science makes no sense to me and I think Clint and Natasha could use some space right now."

The Asgardian snuck another look across the table, and nodded slowly. "I bow to your common sense, Captain of America."

Relieved, Steve snuck out of the room – having Thor with him made a quick exit seem somewhat dignified.

Clint noticed the two leaving, but he was still trying to get Natasha to open up to him. She didn't like to talk about the Red Room, so the fact she brought it up, in front of the entire team no less, meant it was important. Her mouth lifted in her own version of his smirk, so he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"_As soon as Tony and Bruce leave Earth for planet Science Geek, Steve's always the first one out the room_."

"_Still stalling, Nat_." Clint rolled his eyes.

She sighed. "Dimitri was one of the Red Room's scientists. A contractor, I think. He was involved in monitoring agents' health and growth, but there were rumours going around about him experimenting with DNA. The trainers never talked about it though – we didn't need that information." She didn't meet his eyes as she spoke, instead looking out over the bridge.

Clint nodded. It made sense – he had similarly suspected that S.H.I.E.L.D. had his DNA but didn't know what they would do with it.

"Tony," Bruce said suddenly. "Have you seen anything yet explaining what 1392 is? I've got a whole bunch of records here with it, but no explanation of what it is."

Tony started nodding his head, but stopped. "I think… sorry, this one has 1393, not 1392. Why, what have you got there?"

"It's just lists of numbers – maybe tracking something?"

"It's an agent record."

Bruce and Tony almost jumped out of their chairs when they realised the Black Widow was standing right behind them. Clint stifled a laugh, but Natasha was still focused on the data.  
"These are lists of height, weight, muscle mass, fitness tests – it's an agent record."

"So 1392 and 1393 are agents, then?" Tony guessed.

Natasha nodded, but Bruce looked confused. "But these weren't with similar records. As far as we can tell, the lab were Henderson and Vasilov were found was stand alone. Why would their only be two agents checked there?"

"Secret agents," Tony grinned.

"How far back do these records go?" Clint asked.

Tony and Bruce began flicking through the files.

"Would these have age recorded too, Natasha?" Bruce asked, and she pointed to a column. "That one." Bruce nodded and kept going. He knew some basic Russian from his time on the run, but all the data in a small space made it hard to single things out.

"Stop. That one, there," Natasha leaned over Tony's shoulder to point at a row of information. "That one says 3 months…"

Tony and Bruce exchanged glances. "Are you thinking…" Bruce didn't finish his thought.

"You're right." Clint said suddenly, and the other three around the table looked across to him. He had pulled up a search function, and flicked it around so they could see it.

"This data just came through - Agents 1392 and 1393, photos still to be located, first data entry for both was September 12, 1998. Reads '_Experiments 1392 and 1393 successful, reached full term in surrogate and survived delivery.' _Then they each have a record of length, weight, gender, and some chemical symbols I don't understand."

"I think I am thinking what you were thinking," Tony said under his breath, but Bruce wasn't really listening. He got up in a daze, and walked over to the rail.

"Director? I think you'll want to see this."

Fury and Hill came over straight away, and Bruce slumped back down next to Tony. Clint saw that Natasha was feeling similarly, but hiding it. Just.

"We found records of two agents in the data sent over," Bruce said.

"Only two?" Hill asked.

Bruce nodded. "They appear to be records from birth."

"Well, then it appears that…" Fury began but Tony interrupted him.

"Before you finish that lie, Director, one question: is this what S.H.I.E.L.D. expected to result from Henderson's research?"

This time, at least, there was a reaction. Fury scowled. "No Stark. We did not want Henderson to experiment with our agent's DNA."

Tony grimaced. "That's not what I'm asking, Director. Did you or did you not want Pierce Henderson to mix together your agents' DNA to create human embryos? Agents of the future?"

At the stunned silence, Tony spun around to everyone. "Because that's what he's – or him and Vasilov – have done. Those chemical symbols that Legolas there didn't understand correspond to DNA samples, and I'll place a large bet on who they belong to…"

****

Next chapter we'll return to 1392 (Luka) and 1393 (Aleks) beginning their mission…

**Huge thanks to Sarcastic Musician for reviewing; AlekssRomanoff – Barton, LostHawk and Priscilla Harkness for favouriting; and IaMcHrIsSi, dancergirl1109 and neicee9 for alerting.**

**Also sorry if I confuse people, but I've changed 1393's name to Aleksandra/Aleks because I've discovered that Alexi is more of a masculine name… Hope things make sense now! **


	5. Chapter 5

Their mark was an arms dealer holed up in an abandoned factory in Siberia. Surveillance showed he had been sending pallets of weapons towards Moscow, bound for the smaller time gangsters and neighborhood toughs that prevented ordinary people from living safe lives. Normally, this would be below Luka and Aleks' skill level, but someone suspected that there was more to this 'Maksim' than met the eye.

Which was why Luka was standing behind Maksim, watching a poker game while the snow battered the ancient windows behind him. He was bored out of his brain just waiting, even while all his senses were on full alert, but he knew it was worse for Aleksandra – she was supposed to be stationed outside at a distance in case something went awry. He wouldn't be surprised if she'd taken matters into her own hands and moved inside, still where she couldn't be found.

Maksim and his friends had worked their way through half a case of vodka (_can't be real Russians then, _Luka thought) and were laughing over the results of the latest hand when one of the players spoke up.

"What's with your bodyguard, Maksim?" the man asked, his Irish accent coming through his half-decent Russian.

"_Michael Sanderson_," Aleks supplied through his coms, "_Sends and receives for_ _the IRA_"

"Yeah," chimed in the one next to him.

"_That's the contact we already knew about, George from Moscow_"

"Little young for you, isn't he?" slurred the last man. He was half off the table already.

"_And that's the one we're worried about now. Marcus. Looks like he's smuggling things across the border into China._"

"Alexei here?" Maksim was saying. Aleks had laughed out loud when Luka told her of his cover identity. _That wouldn't have been confusing, _she'd said. _Alexei and Aleks._

"Alexei came from my usual distributor, but I have to say, they've sold me on the younger ones."

"Sold you!" Marcus actually fell of the table, and while rest of the men either laughed along with him or bent down to pull him up again, Luka took the opportunity to roll his eyes.

He heard Aleks chuckle in his ear. "_You don't usually go out of character on a mission, Luka_"

That meant she had to be inside, somewhere we she could see his front. Luka couldn't reply, but shrugged instead.

"You are a funny man, Marcus," Maksim replied, wiping tears from his eyes. "But yes, younger guards are better, I believe."

Luka felt Michael sizing him up. "He isn't too small in a fist fight?"

Maksim shook his head. "Not at all. Alexei's been with me nearly 6 weeks and has proven more than capable of handling himself, and keeping his mouth shut." He looked around the table. "I tell you, in the future wars will be fought by younger soldiers than ever. Their minds are so… pliable. You just point and shoot." He chuckled darkly.

The others followed suit, but Luka started to feel a low rumbling at the edges of his hearing.

"_Military or police unit coming in hot, Luka! Finish this and get out now!"_ Luka could hear Aleks suppressing her panic as she packed up her gear as quickly as possible.

"Boss…" Luka let his sentence drop as the other men also noticed the noise.

"Something you haven't told us, Maksim?" Michael asked as he jumped up from the table. George and Marcus quickly followed suit.

"Despite how well off you seem to think I am, I do not have the entire police force under my command," Maksim said as he glanced out the window.

"Only part," George muttered, but Maksim let it slide. He motioned to Luka to grab the diesel canisters and started dousing all his files. Luka complied, having copied all the important information weeks ago.

"Someone's been doing something they shouldn't have," Michael said suddenly, and whipped out his silenced pistol. Marcus and George threw up their hands.

"I haven't done anything wrong! Tell him boss!" Marcus cried pleadingly. Maksim didn't even look up.

"_Get out_ _Luka,_" Aleks said warningly.

"Even Alexei could guess that you must have gotten sloppy on one of your trips," Maksim snapped. "I'll have to find another courier."

"You can't, boss! My guy Jim in Beijing only talks to me…" Anything else Marcus wanted to say was lost when a machine gun's salvo tore through the buildings walls and caught him across the chest. Luka dove down under a desk and saw the others do the same. George was still wailing, and without a pause Michael reached over and shot him in the temple.

"This isn't what you promised when you talked about 'safe, isolated' Russia, Maksim," Michael yelled over the gunfire.

"_Luka GET OUT! HQ has pushed up our extraction, the helicopter is meeting us at the top of the hill in 10. We've got we needed, get out!_"

Aleks distracted him so Luka didn't notice that Michael had crawled towards him.

"Sorry kid," he said. "But I can't have any witnesses." He raised his gun. Luka had nowhere to go. There was nothing down low for him to hide behind. If he stood up, he'd be taken out by the machine guns still going – he didn't know how far away the police were but they had to be almost close enough to storm the building. He hoped Aleks could still get out…

Dimly he heard at shot, then a thud. Michael's body slumped over him, and Luka could see the hole straight through his left eye. He threw the dead weight off and crawled back over to Maksim. All of sudden, the machine guns stopped, and the Luka felt swallowed by the silence.  
"Alexei? What's going on?" Maksim's voice was still soft, even in the dead quiet.

"The police are trying to surround the building properly, and they can't do that while there's a chance of shooting each other," Aleks said as she dropped to the floor. Luka raised one eyebrow at her; she shrugged in return.

"Who…" Maksim backed up as Aleks pulled her own gun on him. He looked between the two of them. "Alexei – you can't let her hurt me!"

It was Luka's turn to shrug. "I'm young. My mind's pliable."

Maksim turned his focus back to Aleks. He tried to put all his charm into a voice that was shaking with terror. "You won't shoot me."

Aleks smiled. Luka imagined the only way to make it more scary would be if she filed her teeth down to points. "Why not?" she chuckled. "You just point and shoot."

-ooo-

Luka and Aleks merely nodded at the agent sitting in the chopper. They saw the ground drop away from them, and the police task force taking over the factory.

"We got what we needed," the man said once the doors were closed. "We have new leads to chase but hopefully Maksim's empire can be taken down by the police from here."

Aleks lent back into the seat. She knew it would take her a couple of days to properly wind down after the mission; being in a constant state of alert for weeks on end took it out of both of them, but watching was very tiring mentally.

"Don't rest yet," their agent said unexpectedly. She opened her eyes reluctantly to see a file being thrust towards each of them. She and Luka opened them and froze. There, in her hands: two identikit pictures of Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. Hawkeye and the Black Widow. She bit back a gasp.

"We're ready, then?" Luka's voice was steady. The man nodded. He thrust two packs at them and motioned for them to put the files inside. Aleks complied, but not before one final look. She so rarely got to see photos, she wanted to sit there and soak in all the similarities and pick out all the differences. The agent cleared his throat, and she shoved the pictures and her thoughts away. _Traitors, _she reminded herself.

"What's the plan?" she asked to focus herself.

The agent shook his head. "There is no plan. You're totally solo from here on out."

Luka looked across and met her eyes. She could see the excitement and determination in them that surely matched her own. They had spent their entire lives preparing for this, and they weren't about to waste any time.

"Under your seats," the agent said, and they reached down to find a parachute each. Without a question, Aleks strapped her back to her front then started getting into the harness. The agent flung open the opposite door.

"The train is directly below us," he yelled over the wind. "Tickets and passports are in your packs."

Luka met Aleks at the door. A plan was starting to form in her mind. The Trans-Siberian Railway would take them all the way to Moscow, where they could visit one of the stash houses to get more weapons, money and supplies. And different identification, if they needed them. If…

"One question," she yelled back. "Where are they?"

The agent smiled grimly. "New York."

Aleks looked and Luka and they both grinned. Then they leapt out of the plan, through the swirling snow, towards the first step on their way to revenge.

**COMING SOON: **

**_Fury sighed. "It was an early part of the planning for the Avengers Initiative. The Council wanted something that would last. Like Captain Rogers, for example."_**

**_"So what were you planning to do?" Bruce asked coolly. "Breed us like dogs?"_**

**_"The Avengers Mk II is not what I wanted," Fury snapped. _**

**Thanks Bellerokstarr for your review!**

**Shout out to, , Z'ha'dum, Janechen88 and Ani-maniac494 for following!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Tony grimaced. "That's not what I'm asking, Director. Did you or did you not want Pierce Henderson to mix together your agents' DNA to create human embryos? Agents of the future?"_

Fury sighed. "It was an early part of the planning for the Avengers Initiative. The Council wanted something that would last. Like Captain Rogers, for example."

"So what were you planning to do?" Bruce asked coolly. "Breed us like dogs?"

"The Avengers Mk II is not what I wanted," Fury snapped.

"Well it's what you've got," Tony said lightly. "All done in a handy, colour coded chart that even Capsicle should be able to understand.

"What can I understand, Tony?" Steve asked as he and Thor came back to the bridge.

"That the two versions of DNA we have from our friends in Russia are similar, but slightly different mixes of Spidey and Legolas' own DNA," Tony said happily.

"What are you saying, Man of Iron?" Thor said, still looking confused.

"He means that the records we found belong to two agents who are genetic descendants of Clint and Natasha," Bruce explained. Thor still looked confused.  
"Wait, Clint and Natasha have kids?" Steve blurted out.

"No!" Natasha yelled. "I ca… haven't had any kids!" They all pretended to ignore her slip up, but Bruce made a mental note for future reference.

"I told you even he would get it," Tony said smugly, while Bruce nodded wearily.

"Some Midgardians who are unable to have children ask a scientist to take the… necessary ingredients for making a baby and put them together for them," he said, trying to keep it as simple as possible for Thor and as clean as possible for the Captain. "The baby might still be born from its mother, or someone else if she can't."

Thor nodded slowly. "So, you are saying that someone else has made a baby for the Son of Barton and the Lady Natasha?"

"That's about it," Tony said, at the same time as Natasha said, "But I didn't ask for it!"

"We know, Agent Romanoff," Fury said, injecting himself into the conversation. Tony swung back to him.

"Excellent timing, Director," he said. "What was it about the Avengers Mk II that you were about to explain in exquisite detail to all of us?"

"Sorry, where did that name come from?" Steve asked.

Director Fury sighed. Again. Apparently it was his thing for the day. "Back when the Council approved the Avengers Initiative, they stipulated that they didn't want this to be a once in a lifetime effort. We recognised that people like Captain Rogers were one of a kind, and we didn't want to try and create more of him. Yet."

Bruce looked away.

"And so you hired Henderson to analyse your human agents' DNA to try and find desirable characteristics for your team of super heroes," Tony summarized. "We've heard this part. Next?"

"Beyond my orders, the Council also had Henderson begin experimenting with altering DNA strands to accentuate certain abilities," Fury continued. "None of these experiments were successful, and after talking with… international colleagues such as Vasilov, Henderson returned to mixing whole DNA together, beginning with the most obvious. Male and female reproductive units."

"Which is why he ended up merging Barton's… units," Tony looked like he wanted to giggle, if what they were talking about wasn't so serious, "with what Vasilov had from Romanoff, an ended up with 1392 and 1393 here." He wandered around the table, looking at the projected information from all angles. "It makes sense, in a creepy, mad scientist sort of way. Take the best male and female assassins in the world and get something even better."

"And if they've been in the Red Room since birth they certainly would have been training hard enough," Clint put in, glancing apologetically at Natasha.

"Do we know what they look like?" Steve asked.

Bruce shook his head. "No photos yet. They must still be searching through the files left in the lab,"

Tony smirked. "Can't wait to see what they look like… BlackHawks? Spiderbirds? C'mon, work with me people!"

Natasha jumped up and almost ran out of the room. Without looking at the others Clint followed her. He had almost been waiting for her to snap, with all the personal matters being flung around by the others. This time he didn't say anything but waited until she was ready. If she was anyone other than the Black Widow she'd be shaking. Except for her, the only sign she was mentally freaking out was a tiny tremble in her bottom lip. It was like she wanted to talk, but didn't know what to say. Clint was patient. Seeing as she didn't talk openly much, he wasn't going to interrupt one of the few times where she was actually trying.

"The Room sterilizes all its operatives early on," she said softly. "It makes for less problems later."

Clint had guessed as much. Operatives that were trained to seduce information and get close to targets wouldn't be as useful if they were pregnant. He gently ran his hand down her arm.

"It's OK, Nat…"

"I know you always wanted the home-and-family combo, but it was never part of my future, Clint! It was physically impossible…" Natasha looked like she was forcing herself to confront her thoughts. "And now, all of a sudden, we've got two teenagers running around who are copies of us. What are we supposed to do now?"

Clint kept moving his hand to comfort his partner, but his mind was somewhere else. It was like it had only just hit him – he had kids. Sure they hadn't arrived the conventional way, and they were teenagers already, but… kids. He felt a sudden urge to see what they looked like. Would they look like an even mix of the two of them? Would they be good shots like him, or secretive like her?

"Clint," Natasha said softly, and he looked up to meet her gaze. "You're excited. I can tell."

"Well," he started, then remembered that she was one of the few people he couldn't lie to. She laughed at the look on his face.

"I want to know what they look like," he said.

Natasha waited, then nodded. Clint felt the buzz again. Something was starting.

**I had planned for more than this here, but it seemed like a good place to stop. I promise that next chapter the Avengers will finally see what Aleks and Luka look like!**

**Thanks to harlequin96, JustKissMe, starlightjem and Catii'aSofii'a for favouriting and Medalwolf and bluebandanna for following!**


	7. Chapter 7

_ "I want to know what they look like," he said. _

_Natasha waited, then nodded. Clint felt the buzz again. Something was starting._

Director Fury, Agent Hill and the rest of the Avengers were still debating the files when Clint and Natasha reentered the bridge.

"One big question still is: why are Henderson and Vasilov dead?" Tony was asking.

"And who killed them?" Bruce put in.

"There were only the two records kept there," Clint pointed out, and Natasha agreed.

"The crime scene photos indicate this wasn't the standard Red Room lab," she said.

"If they wanted to destroy the evidence they didn't do a very good job," Hill observed. "Our team is still working, but so far most of the data we are recovering is intact."

"We were supposed to find this," Natasha said.

"But who did it then – who wanted us to get this information?" Tony pressed. "Because this is pretty significant for a trap or a decoy. There's more going on here."

-ooo-

Aleksandra and Luka were gathering their final supplies from their Moscow safe house. She had already secured American money in their travel bags, as well as some Euros for the flight over. Luka was pulling out a selection of passports and other identity documents to take with them – they would use one ID to fly to Paris, then catch the train to London before finally boarding a flight to New York under different names.

"What do you think?" he asked, holding up a pair of driver's licenses. "Samuel Harrow and Grace Phillips, two British school leavers on a gap year in America."

"That for when we're there?" Aleks asked while she finished packing some spare clothes. They needed some casual ones as well as more 'mission suitable' outfits.

Luka nodded. "We can practice our British accents on the plane," he said in English, with a terrible Cockney accent. Aleks laughed.

"Planning on asking for tea and scones?" she replied, also in English but sounding exactly like a Londoner.

"Of course," Luka grinned, matching her accent.

"When we confront them, I want to hear them talk our language," Aleks said quietly, switching back to Russian. Luka didn't respond.

Both of them started slightly when a phone started ringing. It wasn't one of theirs, but a spare phone they kept in the apartment in case their handlers needed to contact them in an emergency. It was a secure line, so Luka picked it up and put in on speaker.

"Agents 1392 and 1393," a voice said without prelude. "Your medical records have been compromised."

"What!" Luka yelped. "How could that possibly happen? Why were our details not kept secure?"

"We are still determining the exact course of events, but it appears a traitor was involved. We were unaware of his treachery until now."

"What's happening now?" Luka asked.

"Nothing at the moment. We have had to stay away from the facility for the time being as S.H.I.E.L.D. has discovered the scene."

"S.H.I.E.L.D." Aleks growled. "Does that mean the traitors will be expecting us?"

"You need to expect that all your information will eventually be found," the voice said. "If your parents haven't already told S.H.I.E.L.D. about you, they can't hide it now."

"I wonder what story they'll come up with to explain why they left us behind?" Luka mused.

"Hawkeye and the Black Widow will probably be expecting you to come after them to avenge the past," the voice continued, "And as your medical records included photographs from your last examination, they will know your appearance."

"Disguises then," Aleks said, and Luka nodded.

"This will be the last communication from here on out. It is even more important now your movements remain secret.

"Do not fail agents. Our organisation is depending on you to wipe this stain out of our history."

"Don't worry," Aleks grimaced. "This is personal. We will succeed in redeeming our family, or die trying."

-ooo-

"Something big is coming through!" Bruce said suddenly. They all turned towards him. "The files look like photos!"

"Open them up!" Tony said eagerly. Clint felt almost like doing the same, but he forced himself to appear calm. He flicked his eyes towards Natasha. She looked as blank as always, but when she caught his gaze, he felt her curiosity as well. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

_Whatever happens._

"Everyone, prepare to see Agents 1392 and 1393…" Bruce murmured, and flicked the photos open.

The excited team turned and… froze. Of course, they had been given no expectations, but this…

Natasha stepped forward, hesitatingly. She reached one hand out, like she wanted to touch the picture but couldn't. Clint felt the slight tug on his hand that was still holding hers, and came alongside her.

Two photos, two agents. 1392 was tall and slim, with a narrower face. His hair was sandy brown, shorter on the sides but longer on top. And his eyes – green, just like Natasha's…

Clint twisted to look at Natasha. The same eyes, on a different face. Except it was so like her face.

Natasha wasn't looking at Clint – she was looking at the other photo, 1393. She had longer hair than her own, but the colour was identical. She was shorter than her brother, more muscular. The analytical part of the Black Widow's brain reasoned that she would be a good hand to hand fighter. The face was almost all Clint. Squarer jaw and blue-grey eyes. Natasha struggled to tear her gaze away, but Clint pulled. She could see he was comparing her to the two photos, and that part of her was doing the same.

"They look just like you two!" Tony muttered in amazement. Natasha was amazed that he'd been able to keep quiet for that long.

"You see Stark, when a baby is born it usually takes after its mother and father," she answered sarcastically. At first, she thought she was just trying to distract all of them from what she was thinking and feeling; but then she realised she had just identified herself and Clint as a mother and father. From the look on his face, Clint noticed as well.

"The two portraits do take after the pair of you," Thor said loudly.

"They don't look very happy," Tony observed. "Not your traditional Kodak moment."

"They went through the same training I did, Stark, if not harder," Natasha said dryly. "They're not just kids remember, they're agents. Red Room agents."

_"Agents?" _Clint asked quietly in Russian. "_Or assassins?_"

Natasha shrugged imperceptibly. "_In the Room, same difference._"

Bruce had learned not to question when the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents started speaking foreign languages. "There's a watermark down the bottom," he said, "Probably the date of capture… two months ago."

"Anything else?" Steve asked.

"Checking…" Bruce put on his glasses. "There's something in Cyrillic. Natasha, can you?" He motioned to the screen.

The Black Widow bent down towards the bottom of the picture.

"They're names," she forced out.

"Tasha?" Clint went to move closer, but she stepped back suddenly.

"Names," she repeated, looking up at the photos. "Luka and Aleksandra."

**NEXT TIME: **

**"****_Do you think they might come home with us, now we've been trained and are proper agents like they were? Might we be good enough for them now?"_**

**_"They abandoned us to death, Luka! The only way they can make up for what they've done is to die!"_**

**Again, mega thanks to Ani-maniac494 for a review! Also thanks Dragon Tamer103088 for favouriting and (tried to mention you before but for some reason it didn't show up in Ch 5), Rachy20089 and pure-black-wings for following.**


	8. Chapter 8

"Luka and Aleksandra Barton-Romanoff. They have a nice ring to them," Tony said conversationally.

"We're hyphenating the surname?" Bruce asked. Tony shrugged.

"Might as well."

"I wonder what surname they were given?" Steve wondered.

"Does your culture not also name children after their parents, as we do on Asgard?" Thor said.

Natasha nodded. "It depends on who their parents were recorded as."

"What does it say about that?" Clint asked.

"I'm still looking," Bruce said, "Most of what we've been sent so far is just medical records. Hopefully now they have the photos they might send us some more details."

"The doctors would have recorded any injuries from training or missions," Natasha said. "Can we look at those?"

"What sort of training would the younger agents have undertaken, Lady Natasha?" Thor asked.

"Assuming their methods haven't changed, there's not a lot they didn't do Thor," she answered. "Close and long range combat, shooting, languages, free running, survival techniques. Mission tactics and strategies."

"So they would already have gone on missions, then?" Steve put in.

She nodded. "At 15? They probably have been doing things for three years or so. Possibly longer."

"Is it unusual for Midgardians to go into battle at such an age?"

"Sadly it's not unheard of, Thor," Fury said.

"Found anything, Doc?" Clint asked Bruce.

"Still searching, but there's another larger file coming across. Audio."

"What is it?" Steve said curiously. "Has it got a label?"

"No file name," Bruce murmured, "Only a time and date stamp." He kept scanning the sent information, and his eyes lit up. "Our agents on the scene say that they've collected a number of audio files that appear to be conversations recorded in the lab. They've just sent us this one, so far. The most recent one. It looks like they've run it through some sort of translator, so it's in English."

Agent Hill lent in over Bruce's shoulder. "Time and date indicates it was close to the expected time of death."

"Let's have a listen," the Director said. There was a short pause, and then:

"_That was a car_," a voice said. "_Someone's here."_

"_I thought we weren't expecting 1392 and 1393 today,_" a second voice continued.

"That's Henderson," Fury growled.

"_Would they have finished their mission by now?_"

The first voice grunted. "_Who knows? Probably, knowing them. All I know is that they're moving on to their next mission straight away._"

"_So soon?_"

"_The boss decided that they were ready._"

There was silence. Bruce almost went to check the file was still playing when Henderson started speaking again.

"_That's sooner than we expected._"

"_I'm sure it hasn't come soon enough for them. They've really been chomping at the bit these last few years._"

"_Ever met anyone else who wanted to kill their parents so badly?_"

All the Avengers reacted to that. Steve jumped out of his chair, Bruce put his head in his hands and even Tony looked shocked. Thor looked sad, probably thinking of Loki. Clint ran his fingers through his hair, trying once again to stay calm. Natasha had brought one hand to her mouth, but he squeezed the one that was still close.

_Together._

The other man chuckled "_No, but wouldn't you if you'd been told what they have?_"

"_I suppose._"

"_You never liked the story, did you?_"

Henderson sighed. "_No, I just… the whole way through the process I knew what was going to happen to whatever – whoever – we created, but it was still hard to see two little kids grow up being told to hate their parents."_

_"That's it though – it was going to have to happen. Don't over think it. Their parents needed to die anyway_."

_"Good to know we're paying you both to work hard_," a new voice said. It sounded cold and hard. Natasha tilted her head.

"I feel like I know that voice."

Clint nudged her. "From the Red Room? Who was he?"

"I'm not sure. I just know he was important." Tony motioned for them to be quiet.  
"_If we weren't working hard you'd notice_."  
"Damn, he didn't give a name!"

"Shut up Tony!"

_"So you don't think what we did was right, Henderson?"_

_"I didn't say that," _he said quickly.

_"Close enough. We don't work in right or wrong, Professor, and you knew exactly that when you signed up."_

_"Then why did you tell Luka and Aleksandra that their parents abandoned them in firefight, and turned traitors to join S.H.I.E.L.D.?" _Henderson yelled.

The first man immediately tried to smooth things over._ "Pierce, you know we don't say their names. I'm sorry, he's just over tired. He's not really…"_

_"It's fine, Dimitri," _the cold voice cut across him._ "It's nice to know what people honestly think. Especially right before the end."_

_"What.."_

_"I'm truly sorry, both of you," _he continued. His voice changed, slimy._ "Without your participation this project would not have succeeded. But I suppose there was something in it for all of us – you proved your theories to be correct, and we got to replace our best agent plus one."_

They heard a gun click.

"_No, Serg…"_

"_Tell you what. When they get there, tell Natalia Romanova I said hello."_

There were two shots, and the file stopped.

The team was silent. It was like they were all still processing everything.

"Why would they have been recording in their own lab?" Bruce asked out of the blue. "Insurance?" Steve suggested. "Henderson, or Vasilov, might have kept them in case something happened to them."

"Good foresight there," Tony muttered.

"Sergei," Natasha said suddenly. "That was his name. He was an agent handler, like Phil…"

Director Fury stepped up in the awkward silence.

"To summarise: the two created agents have been trained by the same organisation as Agent Romanoff, and have been brainwashed to believe that she and Agent Barton abandoned them at a young age. Presumably they are on their way here for revenge."

Everyone else started talking at once.

Clint pulled Natasha towards him while the others started planning. Tony was going on about upgrading Jarvis, and Fury and Hill were talking quietly in a corner.

"So our kids want to kill us," he said lightly.

Surprisingly, she almost smiled. "I hear that's common amongst teenagers."

"What are we going to do when they find us?" he said. "It's not like we can…"

"Kill them?" she finished. "Well, I have practice in fighting someone to take them down rather than taking them out."

He winced. The fight that Loki caused was still a sore spot. "Do you think we could convince them that they're wrong?"

Natasha shrugged. "They've been taught to resent us their entire lives. And I'm sure there's more we haven't been told. And they're like us – I'm sure they're both as stubborn as anything."

"So, what are we going to do?" Steve asked loudly. Seemingly he wanted to include them in the conversation.

"We will be ready," Thor intoned, and Tony nodded.

"We know what they look like, we know what they're going to do. So we'll be prepared."

-ooo-

Two backpackers stared up in awe at Times Square.

"It's something else, isn't it Grace?"

"There's more people here than I've ever seen in my life," she said as men in suits pushed their way past her.

They ducked the way through tourists taking photographs, and the hordes streaming towards McDonald's for lunchtime. In the distance they could see the solitary letter left on Stark Tower. She fixed her blonde hair behind her ears.

"I hate contacts," her companion muttered, rubbing his brown eyes.

"Stop it, Lu-Samuel!" she grinned. It was always harder to keep up their covers when they were alone. Even when they were looking into a mirror and saw completely different people, they were still Luka and Aleks. She turned around to look at all the activity.

"We'll find them, Samuel. Even if we have to level half the city."

**_Last of the files – Avengers action a-coming!_**

**_Ani-maniac494 is amazingly encouraging with their reviews! Thanks to Old Emerald Eye for favouriting; And B The Shadow Ninja Samurai and friendsrox12 for following._**


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't quite dawn, and Natasha was sitting on the couch, still looking through the files. She'd gone to bed when the rest of the team had, but she'd slept so lightly she just gave up. Clint had stirred when she left, but she knew he would settle again. It hadn't been a relaxing evening; after they'd gotten back to the Tower, everyone split up like they didn't know how to react around one another. Natasha suspected that Steve especially was avoiding her.

She didn't know what to say to any of them.

The information she had in front of her seemed like a 'miscellaneous' collection of data. It had seemed strange to her that all this information was kept in a lab, but she supposed that it was deemed to classified to be accessible to the other technicians and agents at the Red Room.

"_1392 successfully ran up wall, 5 yrs 8 months._"

"_1393 choose to learn French rather than English, 3 years 2 months."_

_"1393 initially refused weapons test with bow – '_what am I, Robin Hood?' – _, 11 years."_

Natasha had to chuckle at that one. That comment from Aleks sounded just like Clint. She wondered again just how like them they would be. She knew that Luka and Aleks looked physically similar to her and Clint, but would they have similar personalities? Would they like the same sorts of things, be good at the same things? How much was nature, and how much was nurture? Because if their childhood was anything like hers, there certainly wasn't much nurture.

"_1392, first kill, 8 years 5 months._"

This was even worse in that it was probably another one of the Red Room's trainees. Forced fights to the death were not uncommon.

"You're up early, Nat."

She had heard Clint come in, but she had let him come up behind her before she turned around. It was a show of trust from her.

"This isn't enough, Clint."

He started rubbing her back in slow, long motions. "I know."

"I want to know them, not read reports about them."

He stopped, and leaped over the chair to sit alongside her. "You do want to know them? Even after what we heard yesterday?"

She sighed inwardly. Natasha knew that both of them understood children were never an option for her, but something had switched when she saw the pictures of Luka and Aleksandra.

"I see myself in them, Clint. I know what they've been through; I know what it's like to belong to the Red Room. I want to help."

He leaned towards her and kissed her softly.

"They're ours, Tasha. Whatever happened, they're ours." He kissed her again. "I feel like I love them already."

Natasha pulled back abruptly. "You know they don't love us. They might never."

"I know."

-ooo-

"I've got the last three up here on the run, Cap. How's things on the ground?"

Captain America threw his shield at the mutated zebra, then tackled the lynx coming up behind the Black Widow.  
"Busy!" he grunted out.

Hawkeye took out the last eagle circling his position then changed his focus. "Thor needs some help on the next block, Cap. I reckon he could handle one crazy bear, but four might be a bit much."

"Roger that, Hawkeye. Position secure?"

"Yes…" out of the corner of his eye Hawkeye saw a group of monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas that had been scaling the building behind him start to block off his escape routes. He checked his quiver. Low. _This seems to happen a lot._

"Actually, it's getting a bit cramped up here. Fancy some company, Widow?"

"If you can spare the time," she replied, as though they were just heading out for a walk instead of subduing most of the residents of Central Park zoo who had been brainwashed by H.Y.D.R.A.

"Be there in a just a sec," he said, equally calm, and grappled down to street level. He rolled, stood up and shot in one movement. Another tiger dropped.

"Nice of Tony to whip up some tranq arrows for you," his partner deadpanned, while using her Bites on a lion.

"Is it just me, or are our lives getting steadily more ridiculous every day?" he quipped.

"After the fifth lemur, I kind of stopped keeping track," she said while firing another shot.

They fell into a rhythm, slowly but surely clearing the street.

"Just coming in to clean up the roof tops," Iron Man said over the coms.

"Roger that," the Captain replied. "Fall in, Avengers."

Clint felt his shoulders drop in relief. Dimly, he realised that the alleyways were dotted with onlookers, watching him very carefully. It was one of the few things that bothered him as part of the Avengers; he'd gone from being a secret agent to someone that every kid on the street recognised. It was time to go.

-ooo-

Samuel Harrow and Grace Phillips – aka Luka and Aleksandra – watched the fight from a distance. This was combat like they'd never seen before. Of course, part of that had to do with the crazy animals. _Only in America…_

The human fighters seemed organised somehow – even though their uniforms didn't match Luka could tell they were fighting as a team. The two that were closest to them were in a class of their own though – he wondered if even Aleks could outshoot the man, and the woman's gymnastic skills were definitely out of his league. Out of curiosity he stopped a kid who had been watching with them.

"Hey, who was that?" he asked, pointing to the spot where the two fighters in black had just been.

"Where have you been?" the boy said incredulously. "We just saw the Avengers in action! Well, Hawkeye and the Black Widow, but I know the others were out there too! They're my favourite superheroes! That was so cool, they were like 'bang!' and that monkey was like 'kapow'! and I was like 'yahoo'!" The kid ran off, ready to give a play by play to anyone who would listen.

Aleks turned to Luka as soon as they were alone.

"Superheroes? Is this some sort of joke?"

He was shaking his head. "It doesn't make any sense. What sort of cover is a superhero? What sort of agency is S.H.I.E.L.D. to put its agents out in the open like that?"

"They're murderers, Luka," Aleks snapped. "Not agents. Murderers, terrorists and lousy parents."

"I think we need to find out more about these Avengers and where S.H.I.E.L.D. fits in," Luka said. "This isn't what I was expecting."

Aleks snorted. "It makes a mockery of their training, that's what it does."

Luka stopped. "Do you think they might come home with us, now we've been trained and are proper agents like they were? Might we be good enough for them now?"

"They abandoned us to death, Luka! The only way they can make up for what they've done is to die!"

Luka grabbed her by the shoulders. "I know, Aleksandra, but we need to focus! The only danger to us is that we get too emotionally involved in this mission. We need a plan."

She nodded slowly and let out a long breath. "You're right. Let's find out what we need. I need some thinking time."

**NEXT: Luka and Aleks finally come face to face with their parents…**

**Reviews from Ani-maniac494 and Skyler Mist totally made my day! Thankyou Faustine68 for favouriting; and Marmite Jones, AlicinhaMB99 and briebydeb following!**


	10. Chapter 10

"_One week after the ragtag collection of mutated animals was defeated by our own ragtag group of superheroes, New York must ask itself: is the very presence that protects us drawing danger towards us?"_

Clint looked up from his drink to the TV screening the talk show.

"You know, I take offense to the 'ragtag' description."

Natasha smiled. "Don't let Tony hear about it – he'll probably get JARVIS to hack the poor man's entire life."

They had some nights like this; just the two of them at a bar down the road. As much as they appreciated being part of the team, it was a super team. Sometimes they just needed to be their team. It was here, in the background noise of a midweek night at a bar, that they were actually able to talk honestly about anything. No S.H.I.E.L.D. agents analyzing every inflection for hidden meaning, no Stark bugging their rooms trying to catch something blackmail-worthy. Just anonymity and whatever issues were bothering them.

Tonight they had both been dutifully avoiding the issue of their children.

_God, he still has to get his head around calling them that. _

Clint excuses himself, then sways while standing up. He pretends to have to catch himself on the table. Natasha only raises one eye at his act, but he can tell she's amused.

It's that thought which distracted him long enough not to notice the other body in the bathroom. It's a large space – designed to be accessible for disabled people as well. Someone looks up from the body on the ground.

"He came in while we were setting up," the boy says, shrugging.

_His son. Luka._

Clint whips his hand around to his hidden pistol, but another hand twists his wrist out of the way. She must have been standing behind the door. She, because it can only be Aleksandra.

She is still behind him when he feels a needle puncture his main artery.

"Relax. Take a load off, as you say."

He slumps to the wall, and slides down to the floor. His mind feels like mud. There's the panic of realising his limbs aren't responding, and before he's able to put something together, to call for help, his mouth is covered.

Luka gets up from the floor and latches the door.

"Now," he says casually. "Where should we begin?"

Aleksandra has a glint in her eye, one Clint recognises. Except Natasha hasn't looked at him like that since he first tried to kill her.

"_In Russia, naturally,_" she replies in Russian. "_Back before our dear parents decided to join the Avengers, even before they turned traitor to their homeland and joined S.H.I.E.L.D._"

"_That was a long time ago,_" Luka said like he was talking to a small child.

Aleksandra nodded. "_I know, Luka." _She turned back to Clint. "_But you know, we haven't forgotten._"

Luka took over again. "We're going to assume we don't need to do a who's who here. Am I right?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "So, here's the thing: you abandoned us. No, you abandoned us for the enemy! Regardless of how well you are playing the good guy now, you will have always left us behind."

Clint settled himself in for another interrogation. He knew that sooner or later Nat would realise he'd been gone too long, and come after him. Then things would get interesting.

"We've spent a significant amount of time imagining what we'd do today," Aleksandra was saying. "Electroshock is a favourite of mine, but there's plenty to be said for the more medieval forms of the art. I always liked that part of our history class. Hot pincers tearing off raw flesh…"

Luka had moved across to the window, and tossed a bag outside. Obviously that was their exit point.

Aleksandra noticed Clint's distraction. "I can tell you've done this before, so you know how it goes. We ask you to tell us something, you refuse, we torture you, etc. etc. Except, there's not really much you can tell us that we don't already know. So I think I'm just going to enjoy watching you squirm."

She picked up Clint's gun, cocked it and pointed it at his forehead. Clint had no idea how long whatever the injected him with would last for, but he still couldn't move.

"But maybe it's not just us. Maybe it's because we're from the Red Room. What do you think, Black Widow?"

Aleksandra lazily lifted her head towards the door, and forced Clint's head to turn with the butt of the gun. Natasha was standing there, gun pointing at Aleksandra, and Clint knew he would be the only one able to detect her slight shiver. Well, the only one in normal circumstances.

Normal circumstances don't involve his – their – daughter grinning broadly at her mother, who was ready to shoot her, while she was ready to shoot her father.

"_Hello, mama."_

-ooo-

Natasha knew something was wrong when Clint didn't come straight back. She took a few crucial seconds to check her hidden knives, and ensure she was alone when she picked the bathroom lock. Taking one last deep breath, she pulled out her small handgun and pushed the door open with her foot.

Clint was slumped against the wall, not moving. Aleksandra was crouched next to him, holding Clint's gun to his temple.

"_Well? Aren't you going to say hello to your children?_" Aleksandra asked. Luka smirked from where he was under the window.

"Put the gun down, Aleksandra," Natasha said softly.

Luka and Aleksandra's smirks quickly turned to anger. "_Talk to us properly, mama! Do not pretend you are one of them now, because we know you're not!_" Luka spat.

Natasha knew why they were goading her. They wanted her to speak in Russian to acknowledge her – their – heritage. But it would also confirm their worldview that Clint was also an ex-Russian agent.

Aleksandra was the first one to regain her composure. "_Now, we both know that's not going to happen. Here's what will: you will put your gun down, slide it across to Luka and then shut the door behind you._"

"And why would I want to do that?" Natasha asked.

"_Because if you don't,_ _I will shoot dear papa in the head._" Aleksandra had a broad grin now.

Slowly and carefully, Natasha removed the magazine from her gun, put it on the floor and slid it away from her. Luka picked it up and pointed it at her.

"_Thank you,_" he said. "_Now if you don't mind, we have some catching up to do with our father. So, we'll just be going._"

Aleksandra got up, but kept her weapon pointed at Clint until she passed it to her brother. Quickly she pulled two sets of handcuffs out of her bag and forced Natasha to sit with her hands and feet in front of her.

"_I know this won't hold you for long,_" she said as soon as Natasha was restrained, "_But hopefully it will take long enough._"

Aleksandra hoisted herself out the window. Luka put his guns away and pulled Clint up onto his shoulder. Natasha started struggling as soon as the gun was no longer pointed at her, but she knew it would be too late. Clint still wasn't moving when Luka thrust him through the window, presumably to Aleksandra. With one last look at his mother, Luka followed his sister out the window.

Natasha was free of her chains within minutes but by the time she got over to the window and out into the alley it was empty. Cursing in Russian, she whipped out her phone and speed dialed Tony.

"What's up Spidey?" he started lightly, but Natasha cut him off.  
"They've taken him, Tony. Luka and Aleksandra have Clint."

**So there it was! **

**Ana-maniac494 and Skyler Mist, you're both totally awesome – thanks for your amazing reviews! Hi to new followers only-one-of-my-kind-7, TheConverseKid and Gingy1989!**


	11. Chapter 11

The other Avengers were waiting for her when she made it back to the tower. All of them jumped up as soon as the elevator doors opened, but Natasha only had eyes for Tony.

"Tony, I need you to do a search of faces leaving the alley behind the bar."

"Is this a joke? Because it feels like there should be a punch line."

She would have punched him, but she knew by now that his humour tried to hide what he was really thinking. And she knew he was almost as freaked out as she was. Almost…

"JARVIS, scan any and all surveillance cameras in operation near the bar."

The computer was silent for a moment.  
_"Sir, it appears that all cameras nearby were disrupted for the period Agent Romanoff is interested in._"

Tony swore. "They were ahead of us. Smart kids."

-ooo-

Luka had used a pressure point to knock Clint out as soon as they were in the car. Aleks kept an eye on him and any tails while Luka drove. He was glad he had something to hold on to. His father was only a foot away from him, and he would finally be able to get some answers. But now that everything was happening, Luka felt all his questions resurfacing.

"Luka," Aleks' voice broke through. "We need to stick to the plan."

He turned back questioningly, and she motioned to the steering wheel. Luka realised his knuckles were white with how hard he was gripping the wheel, and tried to relax.

"I know," he said. "It's just…"

"No buts, Luka," she interrupted firmly, "We are going to see this through like we always said. Avengers or no Avengers."

Frankly he knew they would both prefer no Avengers, but from a young age they had worked with what they were given.

Clint came to strapped to a chair. His hands were bound in front of him, his elbows to the arms of the chair, his torso to the back, his knees to the legs of the chair and his feet were secured to the ground. Realising that whatever paralytic they had injected him with had worn off, he tried to move but there was no room.

_They're good, _a part of his brain appreciated.

He tried to get his bearings, but the empty warehouse he was in could have been in any part of the city. Or any city, for that matter. There were no signs, no equipment, just a maze of blank wooden crates, presumably arranged by Luka and Aleksandra to block his view and to make it harder for anyone to find him.

Suddenly he heard a noise, and saw Luka and Aleksandra coming from around a corner. Luka came over and tore the tape off that was covering his mouth, and Clint had to bite back a gasp of pain. Aleksandra slide a table on wheels over in front of Clint, and Luka wheeled a chair to the other side.

"_Let's start with the basics,"_ Luka said, still in Russian. "_Why did you leave us behind?_"

"I didn't leave you," Clint answered in English. "There's more to the story than you know."

Aleksandra reached over and slammed Clint's forehead onto the table. She pulled him back up again by his hair. Luka didn't react at all.

"_Try again. Why did you leave your infant children behind when you deserted Russia?_"

"I was never a Russian agent," Clint started, but this time Luka slapped him.  
"_Why won't you speak Russian? Are you ashamed of something?_" he snapped.

"I am an American agent and always have been," Clint said deliberately. "The Red Room hasn't told you the truth. If you don't believe me, get some truth serum. I'll take it willingly, you can see if what I'm saying is right."

Luka barked out a laugh. "_You know as well as I do that there are ways around anything like that. Especially if you truly believe what you're saying is true. Do you?_"

This time Clint refused to answer. He could see how this would go. Once they realised he wasn't giving them what they wanted, they would move on to something harsher. Pain, like Aleksandra had implied in the bathroom. Or something psychological. No matter. S.H.I.E.L.D. had prepared him for anything. And Natasha would be here soon, he knew. She always was.

Luka and Aleksandra decided to change tactics. Luka pushed his chair away, and she moved to sit on the table so her feet were resting on his thighs and her knees up in front of his face.

"_This is much more intimate, isn't it?_" she said, looking down at him. "_I can see you're not talking, so we decided that maybe I'd try talking to you, and seeing what you say to that._" Without waiting for a response she continued. "_Here's what I know happened: Hawkeye and the Black Widow were some of the best agents the Red Room had ever seen. They were partners, on and off the field. That partnership produced the future," _– at this she motioned to herself and Luka – "_and all was well. And then this is what I think happened. You were approached by S.H.I.E.L.D. with a better offer. For whatever reason – money, lifestyle, personal beliefs – you chose to go with them. Under cover of a major clash between the two sides, when both were pouring heavy artillery into a small farming community, you left two small children – deadweights – behind so you could be free to join the enemy." _ Aleksandra shrugged. "_That part I'm assuming. But I know it was only when our agents were searching for survivors from the village that they discovered Luka and I hiding under a table. I know it was them who took us in, cared for us and taught us how to survive. And I know it was them who explained what our parents had done to us, and told us what to say when we finally caught up with you._"

Luka came back into the conversation, gesturing around the room. "_And here we are. How about that?_"

-ooo-

Tony was still trying to find something, but Natasha needed some action. Quietly she slipped out of the Tower. She needed space to process things – again – and something that work off her restless energy. She found herself wandering through a park without really thinking about where she was going. There was a lookout on a rise, and she wandered up to look out over the park. There were families playing in the evening light, and close to her was a father chasing his two kids around a tree.  
"I'm going to get you Sarah!" he laughed. "Or maybe it'll be… Joseph!" Joseph squealed with delight when his father turned on him and pulled him into a bear hug.

_This could have been – should have been – Clint. He would have been a great father… _

Natasha pushed those thoughts from her mind. They wouldn't help her find Clint, and they wouldn't help her in the long run, either. _Not going to happen…_

"_You know, I told our mutual friends Pierce Henderson and Dimitri Vasilov to say hello to you when they saw you next. Because I didn't imagine I'd find you this easily._"

Natasha spun around, gun already drawn. Sergei was standing in front of her, casually examining the statue at the look out. He looked up at her.

"_It's been a long time, Natalia Romanova._"

Behind her she could still hear Joseph with his father – hopefully they didn't come up here…

Sergei noticed her distraction. "_Why don't you put the gun down, and no one will be any the wiser._"

She didn't. "Why are you here, Sergei?"

"_Have you met your delightful children yet?_" he said instead, turning his back to her. "_I hear that their father has. I would have thought that you would have wanted to meet them together, but who am I to judge American families._"

Something inside snapped. "_Where are they, Sergei? Where have they taken him?"_

He spun back around, smiling. "_Ah, there you are Natalia._"

"Do not push me, Sergei."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Natalia," he said, smoothly switching to English. "Now that you've asked, I will gladly take you to them. But only you."

She slowly lowered her gun, and holstered it. "Why are you here?" she asked again. Sergei wasn't a man to be helpful.

"Let me take you there, and I'll tell you."

Natasha nodded slowly. Painfully. She left Sarah and Joseph far behind her, and the Black Widow was ready.

**Two updates in one day. You're welcome… ;)**

**Thanks Skyler Mist for sneaking in a review on the last chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

Luka and Aleks were sitting up in the rafters, watching their father from a distance. Aleks always said she saw things better when she was further away, and today Luka was inclined to believe her. Clint was exactly where they left him, and as far as he could tell he hadn't moved or even tried to get loose.

"He keeps saying he wasn't a Russian agent," Luka mused. "And Clint Barton definitely isn't a Russian name…"

"Like that matters," Aleks scoffed. "He probably is American – what matters is that he was an agent with the Widow, and they both left us behind. Remember?"

Luka scowled at her. "I haven't forgotten, Aleksandra."

She looked down again.

"We're not really going to do what you said, are we?" Luka asked softly.

She looked up sharply at him, but her eyes gave away what she wasn't saying.

"You're not sure either, are you?" he pressed.

Reluctantly, she shook her head. "No matter what he's done, I still know he's our father. Or _biological influence_, as you used to say. What changed your mind?"

He thought for a moment. "What you said. When I saw them in person, it hit me that they're our parents. Even with all they've done to us, it still feels wrong to torture them."

"It shouldn't."

"It shouldn't," he agreed. They were agents of the Red Room. This sort of blatant sentimentality shouldn't get in their way. But seeing their faces, seeing bits of him and Aleks scattered all over them had really thrown Luka. He wasn't sure if he could watch while Aleks started prodding Clint with pointy things. Somehow Clint mattered more than he wanted to admit.

"Something's not right," Aleks was saying.

Luka was shocked. For Aleks to say that, for her to admit that there was something about their story that didn't match up, meant that there had to be something wrong.

"That' what I'm thinking," he rushed out in relief. "For one, why would someone who's now a superhero abandon their kids? Secondly…"

"Not that, Luka," Aleks shushed him. "There's someone here…"

Sergei was seemingly unconcerned to have the Black Widow behind him. It was very difficult but Natasha resisted the urge to clip him around the back of the head. Sergei had taken her to an industrial precinct and pointed towards a presumably abandoned warehouse.

She allowed a glare and motioned for him to go first; for his part he smirked and led the way inside.

It was a maze of timber crates. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to them, but Natasha understood why Luka and Aleksandra would have picked this location: it would be next to impossible for anyone to make their way through easily. But Sergei strode confidently through the twisting corridors, until Natasha had almost forgotten which way the door was. Except she was the best, and knew the door was on her left.

"How do you know all of this?" she tried.

Sergei laughed without humour. "Just because you're part of a team that doesn't care about its agents, doesn't mean we are Natalia. All our agents have tracking devices, so it was simple to follow 1392 and 1393 here."

Tracking devices! Natasha wondered if her phone was on, then remembered she had turned it off when she escaped the Tower for some space. If she could manage to turn it on, Tony might be able to find her and bring the rest of the team.

Suddenly the narrow spaces between crates opened up, and Natasha saw Clint. She rushed over to check him; he was awake and sagged with relief as soon as he saw her.

"I knew you'd come," he said weakly, and she knew he was in some sort of pain.

"Report," she said in a business like tone, and he knew she wanted to keep things routine for now.

"Possible concussion is the only danger; only minor bruises from these restraints," he answered. Clint became aware of Sergei standing nearby, and raised his eyebrows.

"Sergei is an old friend of mine," she answered easily as she started picking the lock chaining his feet to the concrete floor. "And he was just about to tell me why he's in town."

Sergei chuckled. "I was. You see Natalia, it's actually all about you. The Red Room always knew that you wouldn't last forever. And that was before you jumped ship with your new friend here. So it was my idea to somehow create a copy of you, Natalia."

"Natasha," Clint growled.

Sergei seemed momentarily thrown. "What?"

"Her name is Natasha," Clint repeated. "She belongs to S.H.I.E.L.D. now, and her name is Natasha."

Sergei caught himself. "Whatever. As I was saying, I was already in talks with Dimitri Vasilov to replicate you somehow. And when Pierce Henderson was brought in, and came with the DNA of the very S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who convinced you to leave us, well, it just seemed like poetic justice to me. And in the end we got two for the price of one!"

Natasha was still focusing on her work. "So you used artificial reproduction to create two new agents. Why the elaborate story? Why not just train them like you did me?"

Sergei smiled, his most dangerous one yet. "That was my second piece of genius, _Natasha_. I recognised that the difference between good agents and great agents was their motivation – and what stronger motivation than parents who abandoned you? 1392 and 1393 needed that push, and they made it work for them."

She was struggling with the lock. "For one last time: why are _you _here?"

"For you."

She almost dropped her picks. He noticed. "For me?"

"Both of you, actually. I'm here with a new offer on the table. If you agree to come back to the Red Room, and bring your S.H.I.E.L.D. agent partner with you, I will let you decide what happens to 1392 and 1393."

"What do you mean?"

"Anything. You could let them have a normal life, be normal teenagers with normal problems. We have ways to deprogram them. Or, you could get them to come back with you and complete the family unit, so to speak." Sergei's smile grew.

"What if we don't come with you?" Clint challenged.

Sergei shrugged. "Then I will order them to kill you. Immediately."

Without warning, Natasha whipped the chain she had unlocked from Clint's ankles around at Sergei's head. He managed to duck, and circled around to get away from the swirling chain. But now Clint wasn't attached to the ground anymore, and he lifted his chair behind Sergei. He thumped to the floor, and Natasha pounced. He tried to get up but she forced him down. She settled on top of him and wrapped the chain around his neck.

"Tell me, what does it feel like, to know your children are ready to kill you?" he gasped. "I've always wanted to know?"

Natasha grimaced, and pulled the chain tighter. Sergei's face started turning blue. His thrashing limbs slowed, and his eyes started to close. All of a sudden he kneed her in the stomach, and in the second she was distracted he jumped to his feet and raced away. Natasha let out a growl, and with only a momentary look back at Clint chased after Sergei.

Clint put his chair back down, slamming it in frustration. Natasha was running after someone straight out of her past, and instead of being right behind her like a good partner he was stuck in a chair. He tried wriggling again but Natasha hadn't had enough time to get any further with his bindings than she had.

Suddenly Aleksandra dropped to the ground right in front of him. Clint braced himself for whatever pain she was about to give him, but instead she silently dropped to her knees and began unlocking his chains. She made short work of his hands and arms, and he started flexing them, getting the blood moving again. He realised that they had left all his weapons on him – with him being as tightly caught as he was, there was no way he could have got to any of them.

Aleksandra finished the last strap around his waist, and quickly stepped back. Clint watched her warily, and she did the same. Every fibre of his being wanted to start chasing after Natasha, except for the one that wanted to speak to his daughter. He opened his mouth, but she shook her head.

"_Go_."

Clint understood. He nodded and raced after his partner.

**Three in a day, but I just got caught up in it! Things are moving quickly now – I reckon only two more chapters for this part of the story!**

**Once again, huge-mega-amazing thanks to Skyler Mist, Ana-maniac494 and Bellerokstarr for reviewing!**


	13. Chapter 13

Natasha threw herself out of Sergei's line of fire and slid between two stacks of crates. Mentally she was cursing herself for not taking his weapons before when she had him pinned to the ground. Natasha forced herself to take a breath, and pause in her mad chase of Sergei. Part of her wanted to run him down like a hunting dog, but she was worried that was what he would expect. Wouldn't that be what any rage filled Russian mother would do? Then she had her Black Widow persona, wanting to slowly and painfully force Sergei into a corner until she had him trapped. She didn't only have to decide which option she should take, but also guess which one Sergei would assume she would do.

"You can't hide forever, Natalia," Sergei said. He sounded closer this time. Natasha decided she had stayed in the one place long enough; she kept sliding until she was on the other side of the crates, and hopefully behind Sergei rather than in front of him. She slowly started backing up to a corner; then she twisted and spun around to face…

Clint.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and consciously let Clint see that. He allowed a short smile in response.

"How did you get out?" she mouthed.

"Aleksandra," he whispered.

That set Natasha's mind racing. Did the kids hear something when Sergei was talking before? Or was this all part of some sinister game the three Russian agents were playing with her and Clint? Judging by the look on his face and the weapons in hand, Clint had considered the same things and was erring on the side of caution. She fiddled in her pocket for a minute and pulled out her coms unit, as well as her spare for Clint. He took it gladly. Both of them knew this wasn't the sort of situation to be going into cold, especially considering they were outfitted as civilians with no higher levels of weapons and no support to speak of.

Clint flicked his head back the way he came from. "There's a few dead ends, but that way goes back to my chair in the middle. Where have you come from?"

Natasha had to admit the truth. "I've gotten a little turned around, but I'm pretty sure that the entrance I came in is at our backs right now."

He wisely didn't comment on her slip. "Normally I would suggest climbing a stack of crates to get a better view, but we have no idea what kind of support Sergei has."

Unsaid between the two of them was the question of whether Luka and Aleksandra were part of that support. If Clint and Natasha climbed up high, their dark clothes would stand out easily against the light timber. Aleksandra was a sniper…

Clint and Natasha slowly worked their way through the maze, trying to find Sergei. He had called out occasionally, but each time his voice seemed to come from a different direction. They worked in silence, only looking at each other if they both heard a noise and needed to check with one another.

Natasha methodically turned the next corner and growled when she saw Sergei disappearing around another bend. Clint was right behind her as the chase began; every time they caught sight of his back, he was gone before either of them could take a shot.

They raced out into another clearing in the maze – this one was empty. Natasha leapt onto Sergei and pulled him down again, this time using her knife to keep him still. He still had that inane smirk on his face. She gave into the temptation and broke his nose. He started laughing.

"_How I love you, Natalia_," he coughed, bringing up a little blood. "You are deliciously predictable."

Natasha looked up from holding her knife to Sergei's neck. At least 30 men had stepped out from behind a stack of crates. She and Clint were surrounded.

**Sorry for the delay! I know this chapter's short, and action sequences aren't really my strength, but I wanted to get something up. I'm back at work so it'll be a bit harder but as a consolation prize I will be putting the next chapter (second to last - yes, I stretched it out) up by tomorrow. It was a lot easier for me to write, strangely enough.**

**Welcome to new reviewers ALICE, pure-black-wings and Lastavica, and once again Ani-manic494 and Skyler Mist, you guys are amazing! Thanks Pheobe Arocis for favouriting; also thanks brodieresa, mkaylakay94 and amutoxtakari for following.**


	14. Chapter 14

_Natasha looked up from holding her knife to Sergei's neck. At least 30 men had stepped out from behind a stack of crates. She and Clint were surrounded._

"This is it Natalia," Sergei smiled. "Now, if you'll just put the knife down, we can come to some sort of agreement."

"Clint?" Natasha called.

"Right behind you, Tasha," she heard.

"Think we can handle them?" she asked. She wasn't sure that she could see all of them, and she wasn't willing to take her eyes off of Sergei long enough to look.

Clint chuckled. "After aliens, robots and rampaging zoo animals? This will practically be a walk in the park!"

Sergei was still looking up at Natasha. She could tell what he was thinking: that she would try to fight her way out, regardless of the odds. Time to change those odds. Hoping she would have enough time, Natasha flipped out her phone and turned it on. All the Avengers phones could be tracked by JARVIS, but she wasn't about to wait and see if Tony thought to look for her. She punched in her passcode, and the phone immediately started sending out the distress signal to Stark Tower. She pushed her phone back into its pocket.

"I still control 1392 and 1393, Natalia," Sergei was gloating. "They still belong to me, and I know who's side they'll be fighting on once they arrive. Don't even try."

"Their names are Luka and Aleksandra!" she growled, "And they are my children!"

Without any warning she plunged her knife into Sergei's neck, whipped her gun out and started firing at the army around her. She heard Clint doing the same behind her. Somehow the men were caught unawares and they managed to hit at least 7 of them before the rest reacted. Natasha and Clint sprinted out of sight as soon as shots were returned.

"Avengers?" he gasped out.

"Coming," she managed. _Hopefully…_

Clint wished he had his bow and arrow but they were still back at the Tower – he hadn't thought he'd need them at the bar. Instead he steadily worked his way through his supply of bullets and knives. He poked his head around the next corner, but had to duck back when a bullet whizzed past and embedded itself in the wall.

"A bit stuck on this side, Nat," he called to her. She was about 20m away from him down the row.

"Not looking great here either," she replied between shots.

"_Funny you should mention it, but it's looking pretty hairy outside too_." Natasha almost smiled when Iron Man's voice came in over the coms.

"Busy?" Clint asked.

"Well, actually I was talking about Thor. The conditioner that guy goes through…"

Natasha coughed, and Tony quickly got back to business. Somehow she managed to even make that sound scary. "You've got at least 40 armed men outside, with vehicle support. No helicopters though."

"Strange," Clint grunted.

"That would be because Dr Banner – well, the 'Other Guy' – is using the one they had like a rattle," Captain America came through.

"Captain," Clint said. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to be tied up out here for a while," he answered apologetically. "Can you handle yourselves inside for now?"

"Um, not sure about that Cap," Natasha said. "We're kind of boxed in at the moment."

"How many?" Iron Man put in.

"At least 30 we know of. Currently fighting 10, two groups."

There were more shots. It sounded like the group near Clint had decided to advance down their corridor.

"Incoming Widow," he told her.

"Same here," she said.

Clint tensed. He was ready for those men to come around the corner. First, he would use up his remaining knives; with his accuracy that should take care of two of them. By that stage the rest would be close enough that gunfire would be ineffective, so he would have to incapacitate them manually before they had a chance to react. He crept closer to the corner, fingers gently removing his knives…

Suddenly, he heard six shots. Not ones like his handgun, or like the assault rifles he assumed the Russians had. These were sniper shots – the sound was as familiar to him as his own heartbeat.

Natasha had also heard the shots, but she didn't have time to turn around and see if Clint was alright. She was getting ready to pounce around the corner, when she heard a muffled cry, followed by a snap. She knew that sound. It was one she heard in her nightmares – necks snapping. Natasha risked the corner, only to see Luka stepping away from a downed soldier, gun raised. He must have come out of nowhere; the other three men were still in shock. But when they saw Natasha, it was like a switch had been pressed because they lifted their guns up immediately.

Only for Natasha and Luka to calmly take them all down before they could fire a single shot.

"_Amateurs,_" Natasha sniffed. She saw Luka roll his eyes.

"_Hired help. The Red Room would not allow idiots such as these._"

Natasha decided to take her second big risk in as many minutes, and let Luka see her back while she went back around the corner to Clint. She heard Luka following; both of them saw Clint standing at his corner, and saw what he was checking out. Six soldiers, all dead with shots straight through the eye.

"Perfect shots," Clint said quietly, but Luka coughed.

"_That one got it more through his temple._"

"_Like to see you do better._" Aleksandra dropped silently to the ground from the rafters, rifle in one hand.

The four of them all felt the awkwardness of the silence enveloping them.

"So…" Clint started, looking like he wanted to start swinging his arms around.

"So." Luka said firmly, in English. "We want the truth."

"Now?"

"Now."

Natasha sighed. "Long story short: I _was _an agent of the Red Room, ever since I was 4 years old. My life was not that different from your own, I expect. But after many years of hunting, hurting and killing I had had enough of my life. That's when I met your father. He was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but he had been a circus performer before that. But I'll let him tell you his story another time. His mission was to find and kill the Black Widow; he made another call. He offered me a second chance at life by joining S.H.I.E.L.D., and did whatever it took to get me in. We became partners, went on a multitude of missions together over the years, most recently defeating some alien invaders."

"Don't ask how that happened," Clint said quickly. "It'll take too long."

Natasha glared at him. "Anyway, we're part of the Avengers now. It was with them, only a few weeks ago that we found out about you."

"So what Sergei said about copies and artificial reproduction was true?" Aleksandra asked. Natasha couldn't read her expression.

"Yes. Two scientists mixed DNA from Hawkeye and the Black Widow to create new agents for the Red Room."

Luka and Aleksandra looked at each other. Natasha could tell they were communicating silently – not unlike what she could do with Clint. It spoke of years of shared experiences. Partners.

They all jumped when they heard an explosion in the distance.

Clint reached for his earpiece. "Captain? What's going on outside?"

"Hulk decided to rejoin the battle; he just took out a couple of SUV's," Captain America replied.

Clint turned to Natasha. "We need to get out there." She nodded.

"We're coming too," Aleksandra said.

"You don't need to…" Clint started, but she interrupted him.

"We do," she said firmly. "This is our debt to pay."

Natasha looked to Clint. She knew there would be no convincing them otherwise. They were just like her and Clint, she could tell.

"Fine," he said. "Aleksandra, you're better with the long shots, right?"

She nodded, but rolled her eyes. "Aleks, please." She grinned. "Not even my parents called me Aleksandra."

Clint smiled back. "Sure thing. Luka, you head off with your mom; Aleks and I will clear the ground from the rafters."

Aleks picked up her rifle, but Luka stopped her before turning to Clint and Natasha. "You know, you don't have to pretend for us. You don't have to keep calling yourselves our parents."

Natasha put down her gun so she could put both hands on Luka's shoulders. He stiffened but let her get close.

"_Luka,_" she said in Russian, "_You are my son. Trust me when I say I know all about messy backgrounds. But that doesn't change the present. You and Aleks are our children, no matter what._"

Luka looked away as soon as he could. She saw him shutting down – just what Clint must see when she does it to him. "_Biological influences,_" Luka muttered, and started off around the corner.

Clint looked across to Aleks. She shrugged. "He always takes time."

"What about you?" Clint asked.

"Hot and cold quick," she winked, and Clint grinned.

"Red head, then."

Natasha and Aleks shot him matching glares.

"_Do you shoot him often?_" Aleks asked casually.

"_Only in non-essential areas,_" Natasha replied, equally at ease.

Clint forced a laugh, and shot up into the rafters. Aleks chuckled with Natasha, then followed.

-ooo-

Luka forced all difficult thoughts out of his mind and focused on his mission. That was what he was trained to do. Even though up until less than an hour ago, he was the one arguing with Aleks about the possibility they might be able to work things out with their parents, now he was the one holding back. She was always able to calm down quickly, but he was burning. Somehow finding out you were the result of a laboratory experiment was worse than believing your parents abandoned you. At least that gave you some past – at some stage someone wanted you. Now all he was left with emptiness. Sterility. He was made for a purpose; he wasn't meant to feel anything.

Aleks probably hadn't thought these things through, he decided. After they got out of this disaster, he would explain and she would probably fire right back up again. Luka smiled and shot a stray soldier who had come the wrong way. Things could go back to normal.

**I know I said only 14 chapters, but this one was getting long so I decided to split it up. Never mind, the end will be up within the next two days!**

**Thanks Ana-maniac494 ****and ** AlicinhaMB99 for reviewing; mkaylakay94 and Lollypops101 for favouriting; and sillystarshine, pohab, five-seconds-redone and sweetmusicofsolstace for following!  



	15. Chapter 15

Clint followed Aleks as she danced across the rafters. She led him towards a group of support beams that held a variety of items: guns, knives, medical supplies, food.

"So, come here often?" he asked.  
Aleks shrugged and starting searching through a box.

"Tasha says that my space in the rafters at S.H.I.E.L.D. is like a nest," he tried again.

"Hawkeye?" she asked as a question.

"You have no idea of all the bird jokes I've gotten."

Aleks turned and she was holding another sniper rifle. "My spare."

Clint took it and turned it over in his hands.

"I know it's not a bow and arrow," Aleks said apologetically, then found her grin again. "But I don't believe in medieval weaponry."

"I'll show you how, sometime."

She didn't answer; instead she took off in the direction that Luka and Natasha had gone.

Aleks knew she wouldn't be able to explain her change of heart to Luka. She could barely understand it herself. She knew he would be all hung up about the nature of their conception – to be honest it bothered her as well.

But that fact was her biological parents were standing right in front of her, offering her the chance to be a part of a family. She could belong to someone rather than something. To have someone who cared about her, instead of just what she useful for.

It was like there was some aching hole inside her than she hadn't really known existed until it was thrust in her face.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a group of three men creeping towards Luka and Natasha, and she shook all other thoughts out. She couldn't afford to be sentimental – human – now. Aleks pointed the men out to Clint, and he nodded.

-ooo-

"We're on your six Widow," Natasha heard Clint say over their coms. "Trio coming in at 3 o'clock."

Natasha signaled this to Luka; she assumed he would know Russian military hand signs. He nodded. She knew he wasn't happy about working with her, but he'd obviously decided it was necessary.

Luka went first around the corner and took down the first man; Natasha was right behind him and killed the second. A sniper shot burst between them and took at the last man at the same time.

"Thank Aleks for me," Natasha murmured to Clint.

"That one was me!" he protested. Natasha heard Aleks laughing softly in the background.

Luka was still scowling. He walked over to the bodies and kicked the gun away from one of them.

"I'm surprised Sergei allowed them to bring automatic weaponry here," Natasha tried. "They're not much use in a confined space, especially with such average soldiers."

Luka ignored her.

"Did you know he was coming?" she pushed.

"We didn't need him!" Luka snapped. "We could have killed you without anyone!"

Natasha didn't know what to say to that.

"Large group heading your way from the south, Widow," Clint said again.

"Do you have a shot?" she asked quietly, even though she guessed he wouldn't have, judging by where she thought he and Aleks were.

"They need to be further across – Aleks and I can move but only a little."

Luka suddenly stepped over. "Let me go," he said.

Natasha nodded quickly, anything to give him the space he wanted.

Luka marched out towards the end of the row they were in.

"_I've got them covered, I need backup! Push up to the east!_" he yelled in Russian. Natasha heard the change instantly; boots pounded towards them, shouts answering the call.

Luka closed his eyes, took a breath then fired on the first man around the corner. Again, Natasha followed suit and she heard Clint and Aleks helping them from their perch.

"All clear, Widow."

"As in, that group is clear or everything's clear?" Natasha asked.

"As in, all clear let's get out of here," Clint replied snarkily. She could imagine him rolling his eyes. Just like Luka did before. Luka…

Luka was gone.

Natasha spun around, but there was no sign of her son. "Clint?" she said into her coms.

"Tasha?" She could hear the worry in his voice.

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "But Luka's gone."

There was silence. Now it was her turn to be worried. "Clint!" she said again.

"Sorry, Tasha. It's just, when Aleks and I were up here taking out that last group, and I'd just taken out the final one, I looked over to where she was but she's gone."

"Gone?"

"I literally looked away for a second and she's just disappeared."

"They both wouldn't just leave like that Clint!" Natasha snapped. She'd thought things might have actually started working out for them, but obviously Luka and Aleksandra had other plans.

"Should we go look for them?" Clint was saying. She could hear him working himself up. "Where should we start looking?"

"They'll be fine, Clint," she said firmly. Now that she'd noticed it in Luka, Natasha felt herself shutting down and closing up, but she refused to stop. She would not allow herself to be hurt over this. "They can look after themselves."

-ooo-

The Avengers reconvened outside the warehouse. Somehow something had caught fire during the fight; Natasha was surprised until she remembered Iron Man and Thor had both been involved.

A black S.H.I.E.L.D. car pulled up and Director Fury stepped out. A senior agent approached him, presumably to explain what needed to be done, and Fury nodded in agreement. The agent scurried off to give orders to teams of other agents arriving in their own cars.

"So it looks like S.H.I.E.L.D. will clean all this up then," Tony said lightly. He had lifted his face mask so he could speak to them properly.

Clint only nodded vaguely. Even though she knew she was meant to be blanking him, Natasha wanted to talk to him. But she knew he would make her wait until they were alone. And she wasn't talking about it – them.

"It seems to have become a habit for us," Fury responded to Tony as he came over. Steve straightened once the Director stopped in front of him.

"Sir…" he began, but Fury held up his hand.

"Thank you Captain, but I don't want to know what the Avengers were doing in a derelict factory area. As far as S.H.I.E.L.D. records and the council will know, Agents Barton and Romanoff intercepted a small army of Russian agents and managed to detain them before they could properly infiltrate New York."

"Thank you sir," Clint said gratefully, and Natasha knew he understood as well as she did: Fury was allowing the involvement of Luka and Aleksandra to stay out of sight, keeping them away from the Council.

Obviously Steve guessed the same; he motioned for the others to start heading back to the Quinjet. Fury seemed about to leave but Clint stopped him.

"Sir, did anyone see…." He let Fury fill in the rest of the question.

"If there was anyone else here, Agent Barton, I suspect that they ran off as soon as it was safe. If I'm informed otherwise, I will let you know."

"Thank you sir," Clint said again, and Fury left them alone. Natasha lent back against the wall, and Clint came up next to her so their shoulders were touching. She knew what he wanted, but she wasn't going to give it to him. He pushed against her harder, and the contact was too much. Natasha felt all her walls drop away – damn Clint Barton for being able to do this to her!

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" she asked Clint quietly. He shrugged.

"I don't know, Tasha." He looked out towards the sun, which was slowly rising over the city. "For all we know they're hightailing back to Russia and everything they're familiar with." Clint swallowed hard. "I just hope that wherever they are they're OK, and that they know they can come back."

Natasha paused. She knew this was her last chance to shield herself off from all of this. But she couldn't. She lay her head down on his shoulder. "Me too, Clint. Me too."

-ooo-

Aleks forced her eyes to stay open. This wasn't the first time she'd been left in a pitch black room, with no points of orientation. Luka had been in the next room at one stage, but she had no idea if he was still there.

She'd lost count of how many hours she'd been dangling here, suspended from the floor by a variety of chains and harnesses. It was all designed to disorient her, and it was working. She could see nothing to tell her where she was, she couldn't feel anything – even the ground – to tell her where she was, and she suspected the room was soundproof as well. It was like being in space. She could have been 30m in the air, or 3 cm above the ground, and she couldn't tell the difference.

The shock raced through her body again, from the tips of her toes through to her left shoulder where someone – she'd never seen his face – held a cattle prod to her bicep.

"Let's try again," he said softly. "The Council needs to know the location of Ivan Petrovich. Where is he?"

**And… that's the end of Part 1! Thank you so much for sticking with me this far. I will be continuing this, with more Avengers team action, in this same story but I've started work again so updates will be fewer and further between. See you soon!**


	16. Chapter 16

The boy hadn't moved since the last round of patrols. He wasn't sure if the boy moved at all. Apparently he had barely twitched since they hooked him up to the respirator. The machines surrounding him hummed, a dull drone that put his teeth on edge. The room was white and clean; the different tubes and machines leading towards the boy were keeping him alive. But this wasn't a hospital.

No windows.

Nothing from friends or family. _Get well soon._

No visitors, except for the guards who came past every hour. It wasn't like they expected him to be able to do much.

The guard moved on. There were only two prisoners on this floor – different people were kept separately here. The girl was less than 30 metres from her brother, but she didn't know. They had been as close as 2 metres apart at one stage.

That was when she was in the sensory deprivation chamber. Total darkness, total silence. Suspended from the floor to prevent you even knowing where you were in the room. She had lasted 4 months in that room.

Now she was in a different room. Still empty. Through the viewing window and the dim light inside he could see her curled up in the far corner. She was in a ball, knees to her chest. She looked asleep and broken, but with the people that were kept down here you could never tell. Suddenly the lights blazed on to their full intensity. This room was almost the opposite of sensory deprivation. Instead, lights would go on and off at all hours – sometimes it would be darkest at noon then full light at midnight. Different sounds – nature, crowds, traffic – were broadcast in random intervals. She hadn't broken in a room of nothingness. Maybe she would give up her information when she felt surrounded by everything with no pattern or control.

He moved away. His patrol continued, away from Russian terrorists and towards Sudanese weapons traders. Whatever they did, wherever they came from, S.H.I.E.L.D. would find them. And he would keep them.

**And we're back! Sorry for the short update, but I wanted to reorientate us all (myself included) before we snap back into action. Don't worry – the next chapter will appear on Saturday!**


	17. Chapter 17

She had had this dream before. Everything was white and clean. Snow dusted across her arms, and she could smell the freshness in the air. The tall trees were coated in white, and the silence around her was not oppressing or lonely but free. She breathed in again, deeply. She remembered mornings like this, when she felt like no one cared where she was and what she was doing.

Natasha had very few good dreams, but nearly all of them were in Russia.

Except they nearly always turned into nightmares. She braced herself. Normally, her dream-self would turn around, and blood would be pooling around her toes, staining everything in its path. The forest would burn and all that was good in her memories would disappear into terror and death.

_My ledger is dripping…_

She forced herself to turn and face her demons.

There was a shout, and a bright red sled shot past her, just missing her feet.

"Watch out!" a passenger laughed as the sled pulled up a few metres in front of her.

Clint rolled off the sled out onto the snow, laughing and grappling with the child in front of him.

"My turn, papa, my turn!" Natasha spun back around to see another child. She had never seen him before, but it could only be Luka. He looked about 5 years old, hair sticking out all over the place and green eyes shining with excitement. He was wearing tiny blue mittens and a red scarf.

"It's your turn to pull the sled back up the hill, Luka," Clint chuckled, but he picked up the sled and started walking towards her. Aleks – she was the child who had been on the sled – ran behind him to hold his other hand. She was rugged up as much as her brother, but in dark green and purple.

"Then mama can have a go with me!" she cried.

Natasha's heart stopped. _Mama_. With none of the malice or hate that was there when they first met in the bar. She could hear the sheer love in Aleks' voice.

Clint looked up at Natasha for the first time. He looked younger, and the weariness she had gotten used to seeing around his eyes was gone. It was like the freshness and freedom she felt around her had soaked into his skin.

"Maybe later mama can have a go with me," he said in a low voice.

She felt herself nodding, and his grin widened, if it was possible.

"Come on, papa!" Luka had caught up and pulled the sled away from Clint. He and Aleks ran up the hill, and Clint huffed and started jogging after them.

Natasha felt her stomach twist, and the world froze. The light snowfall paused in midair, sound stopped and the other three seemed to have stopped only part way up the hill.

_This is what life could have been,_ she realised. _The four of us as a family. This is what life should have been for Luka and Aleks. If they had had this – if they had had us… They could have been children. We could have stayed in Russia and really done this._

But then…

_Except… if we had been a normal family, they wouldn't exist. They were only created by the Red Room to replace me. If I had stayed in Russia, I wouldn't have met Clint and they wouldn't have been made. _

In the distance she saw Clint, Luka and Aleks swirling away into the mist. With a brush of wind they disappeared.

"I would have come and found you!" Natasha yelled. The scene around her was starting to collapse. "If I'd known – if we'd known – we would have got you so you could have this!" She dropped to her knees. "I would have wanted you!"

Natasha awoke with a start. She sat up and swung her legs out, off the bed. Her heart was pounding and she struggled to control her breathing.

"Tasha?" Clint asked sleepily.

She reached out for his hand near hers and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm fine. It's OK."

She mustn't have been convincing, because Clint forced himself awake and moved to be next to her. He started rubbing slow circles on her lower back.

"You know you can tell me anything, Tasha."

She paused.  
"It was about them, Clint."

"About the warehouse?" He didn't need to ask who.

"We were in Russia. You, me and both of them. But they were just kids."  
"What should have been."

They knew each other inside out. Natasha wondered if Clint had been thinking the same things.

"What happened to them, Clint?" she asked. "It's been more than 6 months. Why haven't we heard anything?"

**I hope you liked this. This was one of the first scenes I pictured when I started writing this story, and I really enjoyed finding the right place to put it in.**

**Shout out to reviewers Lastavica, Lollypops101, Sophia Jane Marie, Ana-manica494, Skyler Mist, TheConverseKid and ****LaughingLadyBug**; 'favouriters' harlequin96, WelshWeevil, AndDownWeGO and firstbournelegacy; and followers childofthe90'shpgeek, magicalmarvelousmrmistoffele es and BloodyShow,  



	18. Chapter 18

The next morning, neither Clint nor Natasha brought up her dream. She was embarrassed to still be so concerned about Luka and Aleksandra when clearly Clint was calm. He was trying so hard to stay strong and not let his worry show to keep her calm.

In the end, they just didn't talk about it.

But the Avengers weren't a team for nothing. Tony noticed that same day that something was bothering their two assassins. It didn't take him much longer to guess that it was something to do with the extended disappearance of Aleks and Luka. The others took a few days longer to pick up on it, which gave the Iron Man the chance to come up with multiple ideas on ways they could broach such a personal subject with two of the very few people he was genuinely terrified of.

"It's just like ripping off a Band-Aid," he was saying when Steve cornered him, Thor and Bruce in the kitchen one morning. "We go in, ask the question and duck for cover when Natasha starts throwing things."

"I do not think our Archer's aim will be any less true also," Thor conceded, and Bruce had to agree.

"We're going about this all wrong guys," Steve persisted. "The whole point of this is to see if we can help Natasha and Clint, because something's not right."

"They're withdrawn and out of it, even for them," Bruce chimed in.

"So who's going to go ask them?" Steve said.

Everyone went silent.

"I will go," Thor said gravely. "I will not abandon fellow warriors in their hour of need."

"Possible hour of need," Tony added reluctantly. "We are kind of assuming there's a problem without actually knowing that."

"There's a problem alright, Stark, and for once it's not the fact that you're all out here talking about us when we're not around."

The four Avengers in the kitchen almost jumped out of their skin when they realised Natasha had snuck up on them. Again.

Clint stormed past them, going down the hall with a look on his face Steve hadn't seen since they day Clint had finally heard about all the things Loki had done through him. Steve had tried to talk to him then but now he knew better.

Tony regained his composure. "Well then, most gracious of Widows, to what problem are you referring?"

Clint marched back into the kitchen, fully armed. He thrust Natasha's kit towards her.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. knows where Aleksandra and Luka are, that's the problem," he growled.

Tony found his grin again. "So, who's up for storming Fury's office?"

-ooo-

"What do you mean, they know?" Bruce asked once they were in their Quinjet.

Natasha and Clint exchanged glances.

"We were searching through the records from the incident at the warehouse," Clint started. "I was looking through the electronic records from the cleanup and containment teams, and Nat was looking through the paper records that Fury kept."

"Fury's still using paper?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Only way to stop you hacking it, Tony," Natasha said.

"How did you get to them, then?" Steve questioned.

Natasha shrugged. "Not my fault that he leaves them in a highly accessible location."

"Highly accessible?" Clint chuckled. "Nat, you crawled through the vents, dodged cameras, motion sensors and moving lasers so you could rappel down to Agent Hill's personal filing cabinet. I still don't know how you beat her fingerprint scanner."

She shrugged again. "Like I said, highly accessible."

"Was there anything useful electronically?" Tony said, pulling out his JARVIS-equipped phone. "I could hack it and have a look."

"Clint already did that," Natasha said.

"Yes, but you'll notice I used the word 'hack' not 'Google search'."

"I do know how to hack computer systems, Tony!" Clint protested. "It's in the name 'super spy'."

"Super's not the word I'd…"

"Alright, alright," Steve stepped in to take control of the conversation. "We're getting off track. So far: Clint and Natasha teamed up to search S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, and I'm pretending not to think about the illegalness of their methods."

"Was that a joke, Captain?" Thor laughed loudly, but Tony noticed Clint and Natasha avoiding the others' gaze.

"Spill it, Agents!"

Tony groaned loudly when he saw them having another silent conversation.

"Fine, Stark," Clint grunted. "We weren't exactly working together. It just happened."

"You mean you were actually working solo and you still fit together perfectly? What sort of world is this?"

Steve moved things along – again – to spare the assassins the pain of having another long argument with Tony.

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"

"Both of us," Clint confirmed. "The regular files detail the number of bodies removed from the scene, and Aleks and Luka don't fit any of the descriptions."

"But the real gem was in the Director's notes – a personal, handwritten message from one of the Council members."  
"And?" Tony could barely contain himself. "What did it say?"

"Two Russian hostiles removed from the scene to Conquistador."

"That does not help as much as I expected," Thor said, confused, but Tony was scrambling for his phone again.

"Conquistador – where have I heard that before?"

"As in the Spanish invaders?" Bruce asked. "South America?"

Clint nodded. "It's a reference to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s facility in the Amazon. They must be holding them there."

"And dear old Uncle Nick knew the entire time," Tony mused. He looked around the group. "I'm still up for storming his office, just so you know."

But Natasha shook her head.

"If the Director hasn't told us anything already, what makes you think posturing around his desk is going to make any difference?"

Bruce nodded. "He doesn't exactly scare easily."

"Hold it there," Steve said quickly. "We're coming at this assuming the Director is trying to hide this from us."

"Well of course he is, Capsicle," Tony snapped. "He hasn't told us, has he?"

"I know that, but could he have been ordered not to say anything?"

"Because he totally listens to everything the Council says," Tony returned. "Am I the only one who remembers that small NUCLEAR MISSILE?"

"Hold it!" Bruce snapped. Everyone spun and backed up when they saw the green tinge to his skin. Bruce took a deep breath and waited before speaking. "Let's all remember that we're all on the same side," he said slowly. "If we're going to do anything we need to do it together. A team, remember?"

"You don't have to," Clint said quickly. "Natasha and I will take care of this. We just need to grab some gear from our supplies, and then…"  
"Not happening, Hawkeye," Steve said firmly, and Clint blinked. In that moment he had suddenly become Captain America. "The Avengers are a team, and your family is a part of our team. We need a strategy, something that plays to all our strengths."  
Tony leant back in his chair. "What if the Avengers were called away on an emergency mission – somewhere far away?"

Clint caught on. "Australia, say? A suspected A.I.M. base somewhere in the desert?"

Tony nodded. "It wouldn't be hard to create an incident report and we'd be off the Helicarrier within a couple of hours and on our way."

-ooo-

Natasha examined the computer screen carefully.

"I'm telling you, it looks exactly like our last briefing, down to the typeface!"

"You spelt Sydney wrong," she told Tony dryly.

"I did not!" He moved closer. "Oh…"

The Avengers had found an unattended workstation on a more out of the way area of the carrier, and Tony had quickly knocked them up a mission. Thor, Steve and Clint had gone to collect the extra gear they thought they might need, going into the jungle; this left Bruce to help Tony break through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protocols and Natasha to keep an eye out for any other agents who might come past.

She felt her phone vibrate and motioned for the other two to keep quiet.

"Romanoff," she answered.

"Agent Romanoff, please remove Stark and Banner from terminal #72 and proceed with the other Avengers to the water cooler on the third floor." The brisk voice of Agent Hill came through the speaker.

Natasha's mind ran through all of the obvious, and dead giveaway questions she could ask to stall for time. _What do you mean, terminal #72? Where are the other Avengers, anyway – we're certainly not on the Helicarrier…_ Natasha was an expert and misdirection, but so was Agent Hill. If she knew exactly where they were, it was better just to play along.

"Where are the others?" she asked instead.

"Right outside."

Almost instantly, Clint came through the door, closely followed by Steve and Thor. Natasha sighed. Maria didn't just know where they were, she had visuals on them all.

"Game's up, Agent Hill made us," she told her team. "Follow me."

-ooo-

The water cooler on floor 3 wasn't the typical hang out point for agents on that level – the third floor had a large rear facing window that was much more interesting, so Maria had chosen an out of the way location that would not attract too much attention.

Agents Barton and Romanoff came into view first, with Steve Rogers, Thor and Dr Banner just behind. Tony Stark almost looked to be sulking – probably because he wasn't used to being caught, she suspected.

"Why did you request we meet you here, Agent Hill?" Thor asked loudly.

Agent Hill rolled her eyes – Thor's loud voice was exactly why. Unlike the area around terminal #72 and the weapons lockers, the camera in this deep pocket of the Helicarrier is out of action and not due to be fixed for another hour.

"They needed to get us out of the way, Thor," Bruce explained.

"Does the Director have something for us to do, Agent Hill?" Steve asked brusquely, and she could have chuckled. It was an obvious misdirection if she ever saw one. Someday one of the other Avengers would have to teach Captain America how to lie convincingly.

"Never mind that, Cap, we're not playing anymore," Clint said. He turned to Agent Hill. "Let's pretend we don't all know what's going on here. What don't you want us to know?"

"Director Fury asked me to…" she started, but Tony quickly interrupted her.

"Why did he get you to do his dirty work for him, Agent Hill? What, is he sick of having to lie to our faces? Because I know I am."

She sighed. Leave it to Tony Stark to jump to the heart of the conversation. "You don't understand, Stark – the Director can't just go against the wishes of the Council."  
"But New York…"

"New York was different. In a battle situation, if an approach is successful pretty much anything will be accepted. But not here. Right now, we're on the same side as the Council and at least have to appear to be working together."

Bruce and Natasha were nodding, albeit reluctantly, when Clint spoke up. "That's all well and good, but it doesn't change the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. is holding my children in the Amazon rainforest!"

Maria looked at him side on. "Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. has custody of your children, Agent Barton. Just remember that all S.H.I.E.L.D. bases are designed to work together, under the guidance of the Council. If something were to happen, we would have to jump to their assistance." Agent Hill shrugged. "Well, we definitely should do this again sometime in the distant future. Remember: you are under strict orders not to break anyone out of any S.H.I.E.L.D. facility." She straightened and strode away.

"What was that rubbish about?" Tony snapped as soon as Agent Hill rounded the corner.

The light flicked on over Clint's head. "We're not going to break them out."

Thor was confused. "We're not?"

Natasha guessed where Clint was going. "No. We're going to make the Council think someone got close to freeing them – so close that it would be dangerous to keep them there any longer. The Council would be forced to move them to a safer location."

Tony smiled. "And where would be safer than a floating base that never stays in the same place?"

**And the action will return! Thought we'd go for a longer chapter (longest so far, actually) to make up for the two shorter ones.**

**Thanks Ana-maniac494 for you review (once again!) and ecrooked24 for following.**


	19. Chapter 19

Clint still marveled at how Natasha could glide down a corridor like a shadow. S.H.I.E.L.D. had some of the best security on the planet – but he and Natasha helped test these sorts of things, so slipping through a vent and duping some cameras was a breeze. Of course, having Stark outside running a loop and the Hulk and Thor creating a small distraction on the other side of the base helped a little.

He jumped when a shudder went through the base. That must have been Thor.

Natasha saw his eyes raised towards the ceiling, and she guessed was he was thinking.

"_Just don't tell Stark we needed him,_" she smirked silently.

In hindsight, he saw the humour in it. At the time, all he wanted to do was jump on a plane, disappear for a day or two and come back with his children. He could do it alone…

-ooo-

"So Thor and the Hulk will drop some rocks on the far west corner, with Captain America and Iron Man as back up."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "You sure you just want me as backup? I can be pretty distracting…"

Natasha rolled her eyes. Again. "That's the problem, Tony –we've been through this. Hulk actually blends in pretty well here, and Thor make some sort of storm come from a distance. But you and Cap stick out."

"And whatever happens it can't be obvious the Avengers were in town," Bruce added.

"I still think it would be easier if just the two of us went," Clint started again.

Thor frowned. "We have also made ourselves quite clear, Agent Barton. You will not be alone."

Steve took the moment of silence. "I don't like the plan though – you two will be too exposed."

"You don't have to like it, Steve!"

Natasha cut Clint off with an elbow to the ribs. "It's not about us, Steve. All we're doing is getting in and out – we do this every day. It would be difficult if we were trying to bring Luka and Aleks with us…"

Clint growled. Natasha forced herself to ignore him.

"My point is, this is meant to fail. We are deliberately going to set off alarms – on the way out at least – and we want S.H.I.E.L.D. and the council to be forced to react."

-ooo-

Natasha hadn't been to this particular S.H.I.E.L.D. facility before, but Clint had, so he signaled her in the direction of the holding cells. He knew this place was a little more… on the edge than the Helicarrier – that was part of the reason he was so furious that Luka and Aleksandra had ended up here – and that meant there were a few different rooms the kids could have been in.

He was just about to continue down an empty hallway when he heard a soft _beep_ in his periphery. Clint turned to Natasha. Her head was tilted to one side; obviously she had heard it to and was trying to locate it.

_Beep_.

It was steady, coming from a room nearby. Natasha pushed past him to look into the first one. Empty.

_Beep_.

He knew this sound. It was the sound he always woke up to whenever he ended up in S.H.I.E.L.D. medical – which happened a lot.

_Beep_.

The third door down, they found him.

Luka's chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm, too steady for it to have been anything other than the ventilator he was hooked up to. There was another noise in the background, but there were so many machines Clint couldn't pick which one it was coming from. It sounded… wrong, somehow. The whole room felt wrong. Clean and hygienic but…

He found it. This room looked like a hospital or something but there was one difference – people weren't always meant to get better in here. Sometimes it looked helpful and the doctors here were actually just using a different form of torture.

It hurt more than he anticipated to realise that he couldn't tell why Luka was in the room. What they'd been doing to him.

He reached out to touch but Natasha caught his arm just in time.

"Not yet," she whispered. "We need to find Aleksandra before we make our presence known."

He couldn't turn his back on his son. He walked backwards until he couldn't see him anymore.

-ooo-

Clint felt his stomach drop when they came up on a new set of rooms. He knew this type, what they did to people. If he found Aleks in here…

Most of the rooms were unoccupied, but one down the end was secured.

Natasha grabbed his wrist and Clint realised he'd been about to punch the wall.

"_The plan,_" she mouthed.

The lights were set on a cycle – the dial by her door showed that they flickered for 3 minutes out of every 10, then shut on and off on a seemingly random pattern of length and repetition. He quickly turned the lights to a steady 30%, so he didn't hurt her eyes, and used a transmitter to override the lock and open the door.

Aleks was slumped against the wall, her fingers twitching and eyes moving under the lids. Clint knew Natasha would recognise the signs of sleep deprivation as well as he did. She had rushed straight to Aleks' side, not wanting to scare her by touching something but needing to help.

Gently, Natasha picked up her daughter's wrist and stroked it slowly.

"_Aleksandra,_" she said softly. "_Aleksandra, can you wake up?_"

This time her right knee shivered.

Natasha didn't let go of Aleks' wrist. "_They're both so thin, Clint,_" she whispered, and he nodded.

"_Aleks?_" he tried.

Aleks' eyes jerked open, and it took both Clint and Natasha a second to realise that she still wasn't seeing anything. She looked straight past them towards the door.

"_Luka? Luka!_" Aleks mumbled, and Natasha shifted herself into Aleks' line of sight. She slowly telegraphed her movements and brushed her thumb along Aleksandra's cheek.

"_Aleksandra, we're here. We're going to get both of you out, we promise_."

Aleks turned her head, but he didn't know if she was aware of anything. Her eyes started to drift shut again.

"_Mama, mama…" _she was slowing down. Natasha knew she couldn't do anymore; but Clint could see the raw pain in her eyes. This was a mother aching for her children.

"_I won't tell them, Mama," _Aleks whispered. "_They said Papa…"_

Aleks' eyes rolled back in her head and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Clint tore his eyes away from Aleks. He ached for her, but there was nothing they could do for her now. He and Natasha had to leave and finish the plan. Clint looked over to his partner. She was still staring intensely at Aleksandra.

"Tasha?" he asked softly.

Natasha didn't glare back up at him, but the Black Widow did. Natasha had given her pain and anger to the Black Widow. All her mothering instincts had been hidden away and a professional sent out instead. Clint could see she was forcing herself to get back to business, and Hawkeye forced himself to do the same.

They had some alarms to trip.

**Sorry for the gap – work's really starting to get busy. I hope this chapter works for you! Up next: the rest of the Avengers meet Luka and Aleks! **

**Thanks once again to Skyler Mist for reviewing and Cassandra S. Fisher and Black Betty for following. **


	20. Chapter 20

Nothing more was said of the Avengers' South American jaunt and for that Natasha was grateful. Tony even managed to limit his question quota about what happened inside the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base to less than 5.

Hawkeye and the Black Widow went on another routine mission; when Fury debriefed them Natasha could tell that Clint was burning to ask Fury what he knew. But they both held their poker faces, and so did Fury – if he was using one.

Steve, Natasha and Clint were just leaving their gym on the Helicarrier a week later when an armed guard stopped their progress.

"Is there a problem, soldier?" Steve asked in his best 'Captain-America-was-your-hero-as-a-child' voice.

The man faltered, but refused to budge. "I'm sorry Captain, but this corridor is off limits for a short period. Prisoner transfer."

Natasha knew she was the only one present who would have noticed Clint's twitch – it was pretty easy to guess who the guard was talking about. But even though Steve didn't see what she saw in Clint, he was bright enough to put two and two together.

"We'll go another way then," he said, and marched off in the opposite direction. Natasha wanted to jog to keep up with him, but decided that wouldn't look very menacing. And the Black Widow was definitely menacing. Even if her insides were dancing at the news her children were no longer buried in that hole S.H.I.E.L.D. called a "research facility".

It happened that Steve's "other way" took them back past that third floor water cooler. It also happened that Maria Hill was waiting for them, tablet in hand as she kept up with all the feeds coming in to the bridge.

"The guards will be placing prisoners 01648 and 01649 in holding cells 56 and 63," Agent Hill said without looking up.

Natasha bristled. Luka and Aleks had just escaped an organisation that refused to identify them by name. Steve looked terrified, and Natasha realised she had let her façade slip. The poor man was ready to bolt. She eased herself back down and returned to a blank mask.

Maria was still working. "Of course the guards from Conquistador will be instructing our men to keep them separated, possibly even drugged while our scientists continue testing their compositions. I imagine the Council expects we will also continue Conquistador's other 'investigations'."

"Agent Hill, I apologise but I feel the need to get to the point," Steve said bluntly. "Is there a reason the Council deems it acceptable to treat children like prisoners of war? Terrorists?"

Maria finally looked up. "The problem is, Captain, that outside of the Avengers, Luka and Aleksandra are seen as terrorists. They worked for an opposing organisation, completed missions that actively went against the aims of S.H.I.E.L.D., and even attempted to assassinate two of our top agents. The Council has every right to treat captives of this sort the way they have."

"But…"

"As soon as the men from Conquistador are off the Helicarrier, our guards are instructed to bring Luka then Aleks to Observation room 7." Maria looked up from her tablet again. "They cannot know you're there, are we understood? As far as everyone is concerned, we want to observe their reactions when they are reunited after being separated for a long period of time. Hawkeye and Black Widow are both in the private training room with Captain America." She motioned towards him.

Steve quickly caught her drift. "That's right, Agent Hill, they were with me all afternoon. In fact, I might go join them." He winked at Clint and Natasha, then jogged back the way he came.

Clint looked sideways at Maria. "You're really sticking your neck out, here."

She shrugged. "We all do, Agent Barton. Some more than others." She pushed herself off of the cooler and started walking away from them. Without turning back, she called, "His exact words were, 'You don't mess with _any _of my agents.'"

-ooo-

Natasha followed Clint into the observation room. It was dominated by a large window along one side – a one way mirror that allowed viewers to see into the room next door. It was practically empty; anything that could be broken or used as a weapon had been removed. Luka was slumped on a small ledge along one wall, something that was there instead of chairs. He was obviously in pain and just managing to hold himself upright, but Natasha could tell that he was constantly scanning the room for threats. The fact that he kept glancing between the door and the 'window' told her he knew that he was being watched.

There was a click and the door swung open.

Luka forced himself to his feet, but it was Aleks who stumbled through the door. Both siblings paused, taking in the identity of the other person. Luka was the first one to narrow his eyes.

"_On our second mission with Gregory,_" he said in Russian, "_He made us his favourite supper. What was the secret ingredient?_"

"_Basil_," Aleks smirked. "_He swore us to secrecy because he didn't think it was appropriately Russian to put basil in borsch._"

"_But it's better than using Vitas' paprika paste,_" Luka finished.

In a single movement he closed the gap between the two of them and pulled Aleks into his chest. She returned the hug, clutching at her brother tightly.

"_5 months, 3 weeks and 4 days, Luka_," Aleks whispered.

Her phrase echoed through the tinny microphones and into the observation room speakers.

Luka lifted her head from his shoulder. "_I promise you, we will never be separated again Aleks. Even if they try to take us back to that nightmare. Even the Red Room."_

She swallowed. "_I don't think we'll be going back there any time soon, Luka_." Aleks looked over to the window for the first time and smiled.

Natasha smiled back, even though she knew Aleks couldn't see her. But she was sure she would know. Clint stepped forward and squeezed Natasha's hand again, just like he had done that first time they saw photos of Luka and Aleksandra.

_Together_.

Luka, though, was watching the door. He saw the door open again, and two armed guards slid two trays of food inside and quickly retreated. Aleks didn't move until she heard the door close, but when Luka released her she turned around with him. Suddenly Luka stumbled, and Aleks rushed to help him.

"_You shouldn't have stayed up that long,_" she chided softly. "_How long have you been back for – a few hours? You need time after being kept out for so long._" She kept babbling to him quietly in Russian until she had helped him settle back down in the corner where he had started.

He was in pain. The tension coming off of Clint was so strong Natasha could almost smell it. One day they would find out who had hurt their son so badly, but right now his hand was shaking just trying to take the lid of his dinner.

It was obvious both of them had been well trained. Clearly they were willing to literally inhale their food, but they paced themselves so they wouldn't get sick.

_They were both so thin. So weak. Would they be able to fight as well as they had when they'd first met? _

"They're strong, Tasha," Clint whispered into her ear. "They're survivors. They'll get out of this, just wait."

Discipline aside, Luka and Aleks finished eating quickly. She moved to lean against him, both of them breathing in the company that they had missed for so long. Unbeknownst to both of them, they were mirroring their parents behind the glass, all needing the comfort of having someone else by their side.

Natasha was relaxed. They were safe, and as close to home as they could get. That didn't stop her from spinning and reaching for her closest gun when the door opened behind her.

"Woah, Spidey, don't have kittens," Tony said, holding up his hands.

"You're mixing up your animal metaphors there a bit, Tony," Bruce chuckled quietly from behind him.

Thor called from outside. "May we enter, Lady Natasha and Archer Clint? We would see your children in the flesh."

"Sure, come in," Clint said absent-mindedly. He hadn't taken his eyes off the window.

The rest of the Avengers filed in, Thor and Steve standing behind so they didn't get in the way. They all watched Luka and Aleksandra whispering to one another. Obviously they had guessed the locations of the microphones because they were blocking the sound with their bodies and turning their heads to keep their lips from being read.

"So this is them, then," Tony said after a moment. He looked pensive.

"No, this is a different pair of junior assassins, Stark," Steve quipped, and the rest of the team turned to him quickly.

"Was that sarcasm, O Captain of America?" Tony asked back, but his eyes were shining with glee.

"He was practicing it all the way here," Bruce murmured to Natasha. It was only sheer practice that kept the smile from her face. She didn't want to ruin Tony's moment.

"So, when do we get to meet the family?" he was saying.

"That's out of our hands," Clint explained. "Officially, we're not even in here."

"So we must do nothing?" Thor asked, confused.

Natasha sighed. "Unfortunately, that's all we can do."

"Leave it to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Council to put rocks on the road," Bruce agreed.

Tony paused. "Well, that's not all we can do," he said slowly. Turning to Clint and Natasha, he asked, "What colours do you think your kids would like in their rooms?"

**OK, so maybe I didn't quite get the Avengers meeting Luka and Aleks in this chapter. I promise, that was the plan but it just didn't quite fit. I thought they needed to be kept apart a bit longer! Also noticing that Tony seems to be getting a habit of finishing my chapters – it's a gift of his!**

**Thanks once again to the incredible Skyler Mist, Ana-maniac494, firstbournelegacy and Sophia Jane Marie for more encouraging reviews! Ccassidyx9 and Phoenix823 – thanks to for following!**


	21. Chapter 21

To be totally honest, they had been expecting a fight. Luka thought that the soldiers would tear them apart, just to make their momentary reunion even more painful. Aleks expected to be locked back up in the darkness, unaware of anything let alone where her brother was. But someone must have spoken up for them, because they found themselves in rooms opposite each other, across a hallway. They were definitely still cells – the steel bars replacing the front wall gave it away – but they could still see and hear each other, even if they couldn't touch. Each room had a small mattress on the floor, a sink firmly attached to the wall, food that was delivered regularly and escorted bathroom breaks. None of this bothered Luka – both he and Aleks were well used to being constantly watched. But it bothered him that they were being so looked after. Something was going to happen – it was just a question of when.

It was about noon on the fifth day at this new location. Aleks had just arrived back in her cell, having managed to persuade the guards that she needed to scrub off all the dirt that had accumulated since her last wash. That, if had been anything like his own, was lost somewhere in the haze of time from the jungle prison.

As soon as the guards had moved away, Luka called across the hall.

"Remember to scrub behind your ears?"

Aleks grinned. They had both agreed to speak in English for now – they didn't want to lose the privilege of being able to speak to each other, and decided their captors would be less suspicious if they didn't have to translate anything. For the same reasons, they avoided any obvious codes.

"Yeah, but it looks like you missed a spot," Aleks said, then motioned to his face in general. "Right about…"

"Shut up," Luka snapped, but he was happy. Even being in a cage like this was better than what they'd been through.

Aleks could guess what he was thinking about.

"Who do you think set this up?" she asked.

He scowled; he knew what she was trying to say.

"Doesn't matter if it was them or not," he growled, "They still left us behind, twice now!"

Aleks was skeptical. "I think we established a fair while back that they didn't abandon us when we were little."

"You know what I mean. First we got taken in the warehouse, then they left us to rot in that hole. You can't tell me that's the actions of someone who wants us! What makes you think they didn't just decide it was more convenient for us to disappear – all their problems go away?" Luka stared her down until she looked away. "For that matter, we don't even know where we are or who we're with. We could be anywhere."

"Still don't really know where we were before," Aleks said reluctantly.

"The Council…" Luka muttered. "The Red Room never talked about them."

"Are they with S.H.I.E.L.D., or against them? That's the real question," Aleks asked.

"Not just that," Luka looked up. "The real question is: why are we still alive? Obviously someone wants us for something. We have to wait to find out what."

-ooo-

Clint was sitting at his desk when he heard Natasha come into their rooms on the Helicarrier. Then he heard her slam some doors and start going through their main weapons cabinet, so he decided to go see what had her so riled up. She was used to presenting a blank mask to the world it was very rare for her to let anyone else see her emotions. It had taken a long time for her to feel comfortable with him knowing how she was feeling.

Natasha didn't stop her search when Clint came up behind her. He started moving his hands up and down her spine, finding all the tight points on her back and slowly starting to work them out.

"Not now, Clint," she growled, and tried to wrench away from him, but Clint planted himself firmly and refused to let her go.

"Tell me what's wrong, Tasha."

She put what was in her hands down and let him keep working on her back. "I can't see them, Clint. I can't even try to see them – it's all a secret. No one else at S.H.I.E.L.D. knows how they're related to us, so I can't even check that they're OK."

"I know Tasha…"

"Last time we saw them, Aleks was barely conscious and Luka was hooked up to machines keeping him alive!" She didn't let him interrupt. "We still don't know what was done to them, Clint! We still don't know anything about them! All I want to do is see them, but I can't because I have to be the Black Widow not Natasha Romanoff!"

He let her say what she needed to say.

"What if I want to be Natasha for a while?"

"What if I want to be Clint, Tasha?" he returned. "I can be Clint at the Tower but here I'm always Hawkeye. And if anything's going to happen with us and Luka and Aleks, we can't be the Black Widow and Hawkeye. All they think they know about us is based on them."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that we have to be them while we're here. But can't we use that to help Aleks and Luka?"

Natasha was silent, but Clint knew she was planning already. He finished working on her back and pulled away.

"Wanna come help me take it out on the range?" he drawled.

Natasha laughed – actually chuckled – but grabbed their favourites from the box and followed him out.

Straight into Nick Fury and Maria Hill, who were waiting at their door.  
"SorryFurygoingtotherangeurge ntassassintraining," Clint said quickly trying to dodge the Director, but he moved to block their paths.

"I'm sorry Agents but we have to talk."

"And so started no good conversation ever," Natasha said darkly. Clint chuckled, but coughed when Fury looked at him sideways. They turned around and led Fury and Hill back inside. Clint and Natasha sat down, but were surprised with the Director sat down opposite. Hill lent against the door.

"There are certain things we can't talk about," Fury started.

Clint waited. "Are we supposed to automatically know what you're talking about?"

Fury gave him another dark look. "Remind of another incident where I have actively used my role to usurp the authority of the Council on your behalf?"

"Budapest."

"Manhattan."

"That time in Japan with H.Y.D.R.A. and their double agent."

"Three years ago in…"

"My point is," Fury spoke loudly to cut the two assassins off. Hill was rolling her eyes. "At the moment there is only one situation you and the Council are both worried about."

"How worried are they?" Natasha asked.

"It's hard to tell," Hill put in. "At the moment all we're getting from them is a list of questions they want answers to: what are the Red Room's plans, where is the Red Room located currently, what is their training like. Also if we can find any details of missions the two of them have been on."

"They do realise that Luka and Aleks were brainwashed into thinking they were doing the right thing?" Natasha spat. "They thought they were working for an organisation similar to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"We know that," Hill agreed, "But convincing the Council of something like that when neither of the two said anything under questioning is another problem."

Clint and Natasha avoided looking at each other, but they were both thinking the same thing. Luka and Aleks had managed to stay quiet after months of interrogations, possibly even torture. Clint had a rough idea of the sort of training Natasha had undergone when she was growing up, and assumed Luka and Aleks must have had similar experiences.

"That's all they're asking?" Clint said instead.

"That's all they've said," Fury answered.

"Which as we all know is not the same thing," Hill said darkly.

Fury took a deep breath. "I believe that the Council do know or at least suspect who Luka and Aleks are related to. I don't know what they're thinking, but it means we need to do two things. Firstly, we need to work faster than the Council. They will be working to find reasons and ways to get rid of Luka and Aleks – we need to find reasons and ways to keep them."

"Keep them?" Natasha asked, but Fury didn't let her question him.

"Secondly, and just as importantly, we need to expect that the Council has people in house who will be watching the way you interact with your children. You need to keep your distance as much as possible – in fact it would be better if you pretended you didn't want anything to do with them."

Clint turned back to Natasha. She was subconsciously tensing her fingers – only he could see them. He knew she was still considering the idea of Luka and Aleks staying with S.H.I.E.L.D. But this latest suggestion needed to be dealt with first.

"_Can we do this, Tasha?_" he asked her quietly in Russian. "_Can we be Hawkeye and the Black Widow for a bit longer?_"

She looked up at him. "_The Black Widow would hate anything that reminded her of her time in the Red Room,_" she said.

"_So she would go out of her way to avoid some captured Russian agents,_" Clint finished.

Fury waited for them. "Agent Hill and I will handle the Council. You need to just work your end." Without a goodbye he got up and strode away, and Agent Hill quickly went to follow.

-ooo-

Aleks' head shot up as she heard the rhythmic tramping down the hall. There was the regular guard noise, but something else as well. When a tall man dressed entirely in black leather stopped in front of her, surrounded by more men than usually patrolled this hall, it was clear he was someone important.

"I think you've both been down here long enough," he said clearly, turning so he could look both of them in the eye. Eye – he only had one. "You're going to want to listen to what I have to say."

**And what a great place to end a chapter! Except….**

**I did say Aleks and Luka would finally meet the Avengers. Actually, I've been saying that a lot lately ;) So read on!**


	22. Chapter 22

_"I think you've both been down here long enough," he said clearly, turning so he could look both of them in the eye. Eye – he only had one. "You're going to want to listen to what I have to say."_

"We're not really in a position not to listen," Luka said dryly. "But thanks for pretending we had the option."

The man didn't react. "Then let's face facts – you need to impress me in order to stay alive. I need to know how you can be useful to my organisation."

"Do you want our skills or our information?" Luka interrupted. "Because wherever we came from last time can tell you that neither of us will give up much lightly."

"I think you need to understand…" the man in black tried again, but this time Aleks spoke up.

"To be fair, we don't even know whose side you're on," she said carefully.

"I am one of the most powerful people on this side of the planet" he replied, "And if you interrupt me again you'll understand why."

"I thought you were interested in how useful we were?" Luka smirked, but Aleks knew he wasn't really laughing. He was pushing this man's buttons, trying to figure him out.

He closed his eyes briefly. "Just like your parents," he muttered, and Aleks perked up.

"So, you're with S.H.I.E.L.D. then?" she guessed. "This is one of their facilities, isn't it?"

Now he turned to look straight at her. "I am the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. For the last time: I want to see what you can do, and you want to show me that so I can fix some things for you."

"When you say fix, you mean…" Luka trailed off expectantly.

"I can wipe out your entire history," the Director said firmly, "You can create your own story. I can protect you from whatever enemies you might have made."

"And what do we have to do for you?" Aleks said.

"For now? Just show me what you can do."

"You do realise you're not the first person to try and recruit us?" Luka snapped. "Why should we work for you – and don't give me some 'we are more moral than your previous employers' rubbish."

"You have to understand that we are not the only organisation interested in you," he said without looking at either of them. "It would be very simple for me to transfer you back into the facility you have just left – there's plenty of room still in that black hole."

Aleks stiffened.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't some other countries and facilities also interested, if your mission records we've recovered are correct," he continued. "And of course, I'm sure the Red Room would be keen to know the whereabouts of their prodigies. Who are now undoubtedly compromised…" He let them follow his train of thought.

Luka sighed. He looked across at Aleks. She didn't even have to nod. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director had them in a corner.

"You've made your point," Luka said, shrugging. "What do you want us to do?"

-ooo-

"You want us to what?"

Natasha cringed as Tony's yell burst out over the bridge. Steve looked sheepish, but at the same time didn't tell Tony to be quiet.

"I'm with Tony," Bruce said. "You can't seriously want four super humans – and I say that, Clint and Natasha, only because we have certain extra abilities that give us unfair advantages, not because we're somehow better – you can't seriously want the four of us to go against two kids."

"Two highly trained and experienced assassins, Bruce," Natasha put in. "They're not ordinary kids."

"And thanks for not giving me an inferiority complex," Clint added with a grin.

"But they're still kids!" Steve blurted out. "Even in the war we didn't put teenagers out there like that."

"We didn't, but that doesn't mean the other sides felt similarly," Fury started calmly. "Stark, I'm not asking you to treat them like enemy agents, because they're not."

"They're not now, but we were all sure they were a few months ago," Tony grumbled, but everyone ignored him.

"All I'm asking is that you let them test their skills against you," Fury finished.

"Why do Lady Natasha and Clint Barton not test their own children?" Thor asked.

"Because we've already fought together – they know our style," Clint said.

"Not to mention they spent their whole lives dissecting the way we do things," Natasha agreed.

"And, I want Agents Romanoff and Barton to remain impartial observers to these tests," Fury continued, "So they can offer their opinion on the situation."

"What you're saying is you don't trust Spider-girl and Katniss not to go soft on their kids," Tony surmised, and Clint chuckled.

"It was really hard not going all out when they were trying to kill me," he replied with a straight face.

"I do not get this joke," Thor said, confused.

"So what exactly are we going to do, Director?" Steve moved on.

"We're going to go beat two teenagers half to death, Steve, what else do heroes do?" Tony snapped.

"Shut up, Stark!" Natasha growled.

He turned to face her. "Just because you hard-ass S.H.I.E.L.D. super spies might have fun beating each other up, does not mean I want to use my tech – my tech! – to help Fury blackmail some kids who've been captured by what they think is the enemy."

Natasha slammed Tony against the wall. The others all backed away, except for Clint who watched closely.

"Do not assume this is what I want, Stark!" Natasha snarled. "The last thing I want is for them to get hurt – again."

Clint stepped in before Tony ended up losing a valuable body part. "But the fact is Luka and Aleksandra have been forced into this life whether we like it or not."

"_Or not,_" Natasha muttered.

"But by bringing them into S.H.I.E.L.D. we can hopefully make things better." Clint ignored his partner's continued mutterings and helped Tony regain his footing. He collected himself.

"I don't like bullies," Tony said, staring Nick Fury straight down.

"Sometimes you have to seem cruel to be kind, Tony Stark," Thor said. "On Asgard young warriors are often tested by more superior foes. I myself proved my worth as a fighter by battling the great warriors of…"

"We can tell battle stories some other time, Thor," Steve quickly interrupted, seeing the look Thor was getting. He could never tell a battle story without it ending in multiple bottles of alcohol and at least one song. Steve looked to Tony. "We can't bully them, Tony. We won't. But we need to prove to certain parties that Luka and Aleksandra are worth keeping – am I right?"

Fury hid his shock well – sometimes they forgot that Captain America had a very good understanding of organizational politics. "That's about it."

"I don't know what you expect me to do," Bruce said. "It's not like I can bring the Other Guy out to play."

Agent Hill finally spoke up from the background. "I think you're all misunderstanding what we want you to do. We don't expect Luka and Aleksandra to fight you - that's not an image we want to cultivate."

"Not to mention extremely difficult if not impossible," Bruce muttered.

Hill continued. "We want to see if they can fight _with _you."

Clint played his last card. "It's a standard S.H.I.E.L.D. team training exercise. It's what we had to do when I brought Natasha in."

Tony sighed. "Point taken. Avengers Assemble then – but don't expect me to be happy about it."

-ooo-

Luka gave Aleks and questioning look as they were led out of their cells and down a hallway they hadn't seen before. They were bound and hustled outside. Both of them shut their eyes with the glare they hadn't seen since their last transfer, and while their eyes were shut their guards bundled them into a waiting plane. It took a few more seconds for his eyes to adjust, and by the time Luka could see again the guards had sat him down and started strapping him in. After their harnesses were on, their guards restrained them again and left the plane. Luka leaned back in his seat and felt the plane start to takeoff. While they were gaining altitude, he was finally able to observe the others on board. Four men sat across from him, all completely different except for the fact they were all avoiding looking at their two fellow passengers. One was shorter, with a beard and a look on his face like he was thinking about a million different ideas at once. The man next to him was slightly taller, but was polishing his glasses nervously. The third man was huge – he took up two seats at least. He was wearing some sort of armour and a red cape. Finally, the last man along the row was studying a sheaf of papers. He was big – not as big as the one in the cape – but big enough Luka would hesitate to take him on solo. He was also wearing a costume but Luka didn't need to see the mask he was holding to work out his identity.  
"You're the Avengers," Aleks said abruptly.

"Part of," Captain America corrected.

"And besides, what makes you say that?" the short man countered.

Aleks rolled her eyes. "You mean besides the fact we walked past Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer when we walked up the ramp?"

"I thought they would have blindfolded them," Shortie whispered to Glasses.

"So that explains two of you," Aleks would have pointed at the last two men if her hands hadn't been secured with cuffs. She continued. "And I know that Dr. Bruce Banner wears glasses, which means you must be Tony Stark."

"You mean Iron Man," Shortie said, and Luka smirked.

"If you're Iron Man, how come you're in the plane and not flying?"

"Normally I would have flown there, but S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted me on board in case you two got up to something dodgy."

"What, because a god and Captain America wouldn't have been able to handle us?"

The giant Thor raised his hand. "Under normal circumstances I would also have been making my own way to our battle."

Aleks looked to the other two men. "Don't tell me normally Captain America and Dr. Banner get the plane all to themselves?"

"Don't you mean the Hulk?" Glasses – Dr. Banner asked sarcastically.

"Our doctors idolised your work on gamma radiation," Luka explained. "They talked about wanting to try it on us, or some of the less developed agents, but decided the mutations were too unpredictable to risk it."

"Unpredictable is right," Dr. Banner muttered.

Iron Man glared at Luka. "Great, just set us back three months why don't you. Doc, remember the toys? Good stuff, remember?"

"Remember all the times you've saved our lives," Captain America put in.

"Just out of curiosity," Aleks said to move the conversation along, "You're missing some Avengers. Can we assume they're listening in?"

"_They're good,_" Clint said appreciatively in Steve's ear.

Captain America put his papers down so he could look at Luka and Aleksandra properly. "I'm sure the two of you understand the ramifications of your situation. Everyone involved wants this to work out, but you're going to be in the dark for a lot of it."

"How is that any different from what we've had?" Luka snapped. "Why should we want this again?"

"If you want that chance you thought you had months ago at the warehouse, you'll play along," the Captain said, still calm. "They want it to work more than you know."

He went back to his reading – the other Avengers moved away. Luka looked at Aleks next to him. She was examining her hands.

"They want it to work," she whispered to him.

"Stop going along with this!" Luka said harshly. "We haven't survived until now by assuming the best of people, have we?"

Aleks sighed. "I know, Luka. I just…

Luka let out his tension in one breath. "I want it too, Leksi."

**And there we are! Sorry it took so long to get here – I'm finding it hard to fit writing in around everything else at the moment. I'm open for suggestions from here on out – I know where I want things to end up (and it might be kind of obvious now) but I'm happy to experiment on the way. But next chapter will be the S.H.I.E.L.D. training exercise!**

**Shout outs to Sophia Jane Marie for reviewing; NerdHerd22, patty cake rocks, kyubbi lover 98, feliciannaaa and ashe140 for favouriting!**


	23. Chapter 23

It was all business as the plane door slowly lowered. Tony Stark – Iron Man engaged his suit, Thor picked up his hammer, Steve had his hood down and his shield in his hand. Bruce crossed over to Luka and Alexandra.

"It goes without saying that we trust you enough to let you loose," he said quietly as he undid their restraints. "So don't prove us wrong on that account."

"That account? So you want us to prove you wrong?" Aleks threw out as she flexed her stiff wrists.

Bruce smiled uneasily. "Well, not us exactly. But you can probably imagine the misgivings certain people might have about allowing enemy assassins access to S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities."

"Why? I hear they do so quite frequently," Luka snapped.

Steve would have spoken up to defend his friends – Clint and Natasha didn't need their children disrespecting them when they weren't around – but he saw the looks on Tony and Bruce's faces and knew he needed to wait and see what happened. And he saw Aleksandra's expression – she was hurting too.

He straightened himself up. "We have a mission to infiltrate an enemy facility and retrieve crucial intelligence," he explained.

"They use the Avengers for things like this?"

"Well not usually," Steve faltered, "But there aren't many other teams with a high enough clearance level to know who you are and what you can do.

Aleks shrugged.

"Iron Man and Thor will handle things from the outside and I'll be taking Dr. Banner inside. They know the full plan of attack and will keep in contact with me throughout," Steve continued.

"So what do you need us for?" Luka asked.

"One of you will go in with Capsi… the Captain," Stark put in, "And the other will stay out with Thor and me."

"Let's cut the admin crap," Aleks said. "We all know this is a test. I'm assuming you're testing us to see how well we can work separately or with a team that's not each other? We can do that. But um, some kit would be good."

"First things first – who's with me?" Stark pushed.

Captain America looked frustrated that Stark was taking over, but Luka and Aleks looked to each other. He still looked unhappy, but she punched his arm and murmured something in Russian.

"What was that Spidey?" Tony asked Natasha from his suit.

She chuckled. "_She just told her brother to man up and get on with things._"

"Really?"

Now Clint laughed. "_Well no, but that's the cleaner version._"

Aleks looked up. "I'll be outside."

"Good," Steve quickly stepped back in. "Tony will show you where your equipment is. I just need a word with the pilots and then we'll be on our way, Luka." He looked down at the boy, but Luka turned and followed after his sister.

-ooo-

"So I basically brought a bunch of everything – pick your favourite," Stark said.

Luka was trying hard to stay aloof, but even he couldn't help but be amazed at the stockpile. He and Aleks had seen similar armouries before, but they could never afford the high quality Stark Tech gear.

Aleks made a noise, and Luka glanced over at what she was looking at. "_Bows and arrows,_" she chuckled.

"Something funny?" Stark asked.

She looked up. "Bows and arrows? What is this, the twelfth century?"

"This is a sample of the Avengers stuff – which includes Hawkeye, who you might know…"

"We're not copies of our parents!" Aleks interrupted him. "You of all people should be able to understand that."

Stark stopped in surprise.

"_Did our daughter just shut you up, Stark?_" asked Natasha in his ear.

"_Nah, it was a bit of a low blow,_" Clint decided. "_But full marks for the delivery._"

Tony collected himself. Good thing his helmet was on. "I think we're going to get along just fine, Hawklet."

Aleks rolled her eyes, but bent down to examine the sniper rifles.

Luka stayed back. He didn't want any part of this – the questions, the arguing, the eventual bonding. He and Aleks had mocked enough American movies to see where this was going. There would only be so many times he could remind Aleks that their parents never wanted them. That they were only every wanted for their genetics.

He almost jumped when Captain America came up behind him.

"Time to go team," he said firmly.

Luka quickly shoved some knives and handguns into a belt and followed his team leader out the door. But Aleks stepped in his way.

"_I want this to work, Luka," _she said. "_And I think that deep down you do to. But even if you don't, our only option here is to work with these people. Anything else, either they'll kill us or the Room will kill us. Pick one. And as much as I want mama and papa, I want to stay with you more._"

He pulled his sister into a hug.

"_A promise is a promise, Leksi," _he whispered into her ear. "_I'm not leaving you ever._"

-ooo-

Aleks was waiting behind a pile of rocks with Iron Man and Thor. The others had left about half an hour ago, and Captain America would signal when they outside team should begin.

"You know, I wouldn't have picked you for the sniper," Stark said casually.

"Not many people do," Aleks replied. She had just finished setting up her gear. One rifle was set up on a tripod to keep it stable, the other nearby in case of equipment failure or if she needed to move quickly.

"Is it just guns, or is perfect aim genetic?" he asked.

"You are much like your father," Thor agreed.

"Do you say 'I see things better from a distance' at least 10 times a day too?" Stark quipped.

"No, but I do say 'shut up or I'll use your spleen as a slingshot' at least once every assignment."

"Only once?"

She turned to him with her favourite shark grin. "Only need it once."

There was a chuckle from inside the suit. "Told you you'd fit in, Hawklet."

"Hawklet?" Thor said, confused. "Where do you come up with such titles, Man of…"

"_Iron Man, Thor I need you on side ASAP!"_

They all jumped when Captain America's voice crackled through the speaker in Tony's suit.

"On our way, Cap" Tony replied quickly, all business. He flipped on his thrusters and shot off into the sky.

Aleks refused to allow the fear tickling her skin to take hold. She hated not being able to see or hear what was going on. Thor picked up his hammer and started swinging it over his head.

"We will return for you, young Lady Hawklet," Thor said with a completely straight face. He flew off after Iron Man.

Aleks quickly moved down to her rifle. Like hell she was going to stay out of this. She needed her scope to see what was going on.

That was when she heard the first grenade.

Sounded like hell alright.

**Happy Easter break update! **

**Thanks to Sophia Jane Marie, Ana-maniac494 and Renn for reviewing, and to Clayr411 and fionawu10 for following.**


	24. Chapter 24

**I'm really sorry that it's taken this long to update! Work was crazy busy and I was only able to write little snips here and there – but it's come together! I will have another update ready within the week and hopefully can set up some sort of regular update schedule to bring us home. Thanks everyone for sticking with the story!**

"_A promise is a promise, Leksi," _he whispered into her ear. "_I'm not leaving you ever._"

Luka hated being separated from Aleks. They had always done missions together, ever since they were first let out of the training compound at 9 years of age. They had bunked together, trained together and finally on this crazy дерьмо debacle trying to find their parents.

And here he was stuck with Captain freaking America.

"Still with us, Luka?" the Captain asked.

Luka nodded stiffly, not trusting himself to respond aloud. This was the representation of the 'other' he had always told to work against – capitalist America.

"Luka, if you hate all of this why are you here?" the doctor asked from behind him.

"Way to cut to the chase, Doc," he drawled. He hated that they used his name. It was his – something that he and Aleks could keep to themselves whenever the training got too personal.

Bruce Banner chuckled. "And for a minute there I thought you liked me."

"You've been spending too much time with Stark, Dr Banner," Steve sighed, but Luka could hear the smile.

He snapped. "You want to know why I hate _all of this_? It's because _all of this _– the friendly bickering, the teamwork, the _belonging_ – all of _this _– is what Aleks and I will never have because we don't belong! None of this should be ours. We were created to kill people and screw with some Agents' heads – that's all! We don't belong here!"

Dr Banner actually laughed out loud. "You think we all belong? Luka, that's exactly the reason the Avengers is such an insane idea – because none of us belong! Here I am, the monster who destroys cities on a regular basis, trying to play around with superheros because no one else will take me in! That and Tony won't leave me alone…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Bruce," Steve said quietly, but he was ignored.

"Tony is such a freak of a genius that he hides himself away from the world when it all gets too hard. And of course Thor fits in, what with his giant hammer and cape! Luka, which part of that sounds like belonging?"

"Don't forget the also 'created for a purpose' soldier from World War Two who doesn't fit in anywhere either." Captain America turned to face Luka. "Luka, none of us belong anywhere – but for some crazy reason we belong together."

"Together – including two professional assassins and whatever kids they may have," Bruce added.

Luka swallowed. Hard. "I just don't get it. Why would any of you want me?"

Steve gently put his hand on Luka's shoulder. "Luka, ever since you parents found out you existed they wanted you in their lives. When they found you they were ready to destroy whatever building or group that held you captive. Ever since Tony found out you were in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody he started planning spaces for you in Avengers Tower. If you want us, then we want you."

There was nothing he could say. Captain America straightened. "Now, we need to infiltrate that facility to allow Dr Banner access to their mainframe. Where would your point of entry be?"

-ooo-

Luka fought his natural reaction to fidget while Bruce fiddled with a door panel.

"Tony made us a bug to help us get through, but it's taking longer than he thought."

"Remind me to tell him," Steve grinned.

They had only met two guards to far – Luka and Steve took them out quickly and quietly – but Luka was always expecting someone to catch them.

"Is it just me, or does this feel too easy?" he asked.

Steve looked at him carefully.

Luka shrugged. "What? I figure something that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be participating in would be above the pay grade of the FBI. This seems too simple."

Steve and Bruce exchanged glances.

"Luka, we're not supposed to tell you this but there are multiple parts to this mission," Steve started. "We need to test you and Aleks individually. First we need to test how well you take orders – pass mark so far. Second, we need to check your powers of observation – again, good work. But now we need to know what Aleks will do if you're in trouble."

"So, can we work as a team bigger than each other?"

"Basically, yes."

"So…"

"So, Bruce is going to send a fake distress call out to the others and then we'll see what happens."

Luka watched as Bruce moved into the next corridor.

"This is a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, isn't it?"

The Captain seemed surprised. "It is."

"This isn't the first time Aleks and I have been on a training exercise, Captain," Luka explained. "Not that unusual to test your own security at the same time."

"Well…"

Steve's answer was cut off by an explosive crash on the other side of the wall. Then they both heard the Hulk roar.

"That didn't sound like a fake distress signal," Luka said.

Captain America was already on his coms. "Iron Man, Thor I need you on side ASAP!"

Luka was checking his secondary weapons when Steve stopped him.

"Stay put, alright?"

Captain America didn't wait for a response before he raced away.

Luka watched him go, then shrugged and grabbed a couple of grenades out of a nearby weapons locker.

It wasn't like he hadn't been in this sort of situation before. And following orders test or not, he wasn't just going to hide in a corner.

-ooo-

After the first explosion, Luka slipped away. He didn't want to be around in case someone was searching for the person who might have accidentally lobbed a grenade into an expensive looking assault vehicle.

He slipped on one of the coms units he had palmed from Tony's collection when he was talking to Aleks. He flicked through until he found their standard frequency.

"_I was wondering how long it would take you,_" he heard in his ear.

"You can see me?"

"_I shifted down the hill a bit_."

"And?"

"_And… I might have borrowed a tracker from the stash on the plane._"

"Do you think the others know we can communicate?"

"_Like you and I could do a single mission apart._"

"Are we staying put?"

"_You too, huh? This is totally a 'taking orders' test, isn't it?_"

"It's a training exercise, so yeah, that's what I was told."

"_Because you're all about following instructions," _Aleks scoffed. "_So, brother of mine who hates his life right now, what's your plan?_"

Luka sighed.

"I keep telling you Aleks, I don't do the strategy. You're the planner. Let's do it your way."

"_About time you came around. But we can have the I-told-you-so conversation later. Right now you need to head east towards the intersection, then sprint as fast as you can away from the double doors on your left._"

"Why?" Luka asked, but he was already moving in the direction she instructed.

"_Because there's about to be…"_

The tail end of a helicopter smashed through the doorway. The wall collapsed in on itself and the ceiling crumbled. The lights over Luka' head cracked and fell on top of him. He turned around to see the damage, dodging the sparking wires and broken glass. There was an eerie silence. Then the Hulk roared.

Luka didn't even breathe. He heard It breathing heavily. The huge green head looked down and saw him crouching in the hallway. It grunted.

The silence was shattered when the army – shut up when they saw the Hulk pull down their air support like it was a piñata – started to fire again. The Hulk roared again and lumbered away.

"It sounds like some picturesque tour: unique wildlife, non-stop action adventure, creepy hospital-like buildings to explore. Why do more people not come here on holiday?"

If he didn't know his sister's voice so well, Luka would have jumped.

"Travel time, I suppose. Maybe the exchange rates aren't that great," Aleks continued as she strolled up. Again, if he didn't know her so well Luka would have missed the fear she was trying to hide. "But hey, who are we to judge?"

Luka grinned. It just felt right to be working side by side. "How come you're down here?"

"Funny story," Aleks started, "See, I was on my position, making sure you didn't get smashed by the green guy, when all of a sudden I thought to myself: 'Is it just me, or was that army not here when we arrived?' "

Luka turned to see where his sister was pointing. "Not just you." The force that was taking on the Hulk was significantly larger than the security team Captain America had been talking about. For that matter, he, Iron Man and Thor must be fighting even more of an army – they were nowhere to be seen.

"I don't have to be a tactician to wonder if this wasn't a coincidence," he said.

Aleks nodded. "Someone's got a leak – they knew the regular security lot would be looking for a training team not a real attack."

"Except they hadn't counted on the Avengers being the team."

"Speaking of which, do you think it's time we tried another channel?"

Luka was already reaching for his earpiece. Twiddling the dials, he searched for familiar voices.

"Stark, take Thor over towards the southern fence line. We need to bottle them coming in…"

"Captain!" Luka interrupted.

"Luka! Where are you?" Captain America actually almost sounded out of breath.

"Aleks and I are on the ground. It was getting too hot."

"A full invading military tends to do that," Aleks put in.

"We noticed," Iron Man added dryly.

"Where do you want us, Captain?" Luka asked. Aleks raised her eyebrows at how easily he asked for orders, but didn't interrupt.

"I want you two out of range," he replied. "Head out…"

"Sorry Cap, but you're not really in a position to kick us out," Aleks interjected. "You've got an army who somehow knew that today would be a good day to test S.H.I.E.L.D. defences and your team is two members down. Oh wait, you've got two more who can slot in! Where do you want me?"

They both heard Steve sigh at the other end.

"You know, if you get bored on missions you could have just said so" Tony teased, but the effect was lost as he shot missiles towards a group of trucks.

"Actually at this point we would normally be heading out and letting them duke it out amongst themselves," Aleks snapped back. "It's called having a plan."

"Things don't always go to plan, Aleksandra."

"About time you two rocked in, Spidey."

They could all hear a small growl in the background.

"Save it for the goons, Tasha. You can get Tony later," Clint said. "See guys, this is what happens when we let you go off on their own."

"Hawkeye, Widow, you have more intel?" Captain America came back in.

"Negative, Cap. Only what we can see."

"Good to know this did happen out of the blue," Aleks muttered.

"Luka, Aleks, care to share how you ended up in on this conversation?" The Black Widow asked. Aleks looked across at Luka. She pantomimed gulping in fear and he chuckled.

"_Is this what it feels like to be given the third degree by your parents_," Luka asked in Russian.

Hawkeye and Black Widow went quiet. Aleks wondered if they were trying to decide on Luka's motivations.

"_That's as close you're going to get to an 'I'm sorry and thank you Mum and Dad' from him_", she said.

"_Aleks!_" Luka yelped.

"_It's OK," _Natasha said softly. "_We can work this out._"

"I'm going to pretend I totally understood that conversation," Tony cut in, "But we have a battle to win. Can we do the Kodak thing later?"

**Mega awesomeness goes out to Lollypops101, Ana-maniac494 and TheConverseKid for reviewing! Thanks to KTarra and Starscape91 for favouriting and nedrag94 for following!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Argh! And there went my update schedule! Feel free to hate me right now – I know I hate myself for making you all wait this long. I don't know if anyone's actually still reading anymore, but if you are thanks for everything and I hope to hear from you soon!**

Captain America took charge. "Thor, I want you to join the Hulk attacking their main contingent – keep them busy. Iron Man, you circle the group and attack them from the rear." He turned in the direction of Hawkeye and the Black Widow.

"Widow, come around to the eastern side and join me on the ground. Luka, if you do the same…"

"On it Captain."

Clint and Natasha jumped at their son's quick agreement. It seemed he didn't have a problem when Captain America was giving the orders.

"Hawkeye, find a safe spot on the roof," he continued, "And Aleksandra can join you too."

"Will do."

Luka punched Aleks' shoulder lightly. "See you on the other side."

She grinned. "I'll see you first."

Luka smiled, and started jogging away. Just before he was out of sight, Luka flicked his earpiece back to their original channel.

"_Catch you when you jump."_

He saw the corner of her mouth turn up.

"_Always got your back._"

-ooo-

Luka was listening to the sounds of battle through his earpiece. As far as he could tell, Thor and Hulk were taking on the main group in an extremely unfair fight. He didn't think it would last much longer, not with those two teaming up. He rounded the eastern side of the main building, and froze. Captain America was in the distance, but the red, white and blue wasn't what caught his eyes.

Natasha was almost gliding between opponents. As suddenly as she dispatched one, another was already falling. With all his training, Luka could see how she was anticipating every movement like a chess player seeing seven moves in front. There was an ease to here fighting that he'd never seen before.

"Aleks, are you seeing this?" he breathed.

"Wait for it," she replied, "It's about to get better."

It was like a dance, Aleks decided. Clint and Natasha were the perfect partners, perfectly in sync, only she was on the ground and he was 20 metres up. His arrows darted around her, filling the spaces she was missing, but she always knew where they were going to be.

"One day, you and I are going to be this good," Aleks promised.

Luka could barely speak, but he didn't know if Aleks would see his nod.

"_Are you two done spectating yet, or do your mother and I get some help_?" Clint drawled.

Luka shook himself, and tried to find his space. "Well, the show was passable," he said.

Clint chuckled, and saw Aleks settling down a few feet away from him. She expertly set up her rifle and waited for Luka to find his rhythm before she started taking out stragglers.

The four of them quickly found their own patterns, and were working smoothly together when Natasha's voice broke through the radio silence.

"Aleks, follow me around the back – there's something going on down there."

"Right behind you," Aleks replied. She quickly switched to Luka's channel.

"I'm about to follow the Widow round the back. Stay sharp."

Luka barely twitched but he still caught a soldier in the eye rather than in the temple like he planned. He flicked his knife out to kill the man so he could respond.

"What? No, Aleks, we're not splitting up!"

"Don't panic Luka, Da-Hawkeye is still up here."

"Then why can't he go with her?"

"We're not splitting up, Luka, we're just working as a part of a team. A bigger team. You and me aren't going anywhere."

"Aleks…"

"Luka, this will not change anything! Yes, I want us to be a part of a family and maybe even part of this team, and I think you're feeling that too, but we still work perfectly together. I promise, if they even dream about separating us more than little bits like this I'll walk. Well, run. We can go wherever, if that's what happens."

Luka relaxed slightly. "If you're sure."

"Aleks, coming?"

"Coming, Widow," Aleks repeated, switching out of Luka's private channel.

"What changed?"

Clint's question caught Luka off guard. It seemed like their side of the building had found some space – even the Captain had moved on. "Huh?"

Clint chuckled. "Well for starters you're not trying to kill me."

Luka looked down. He still wasn't about to give anything out. His dad shrugged. дерьмо, when did he start calling him that in his head?

"Well, which way are you going? I'll cover you from up the roof."

"Aren't you supposed to tell me what to do?" Luka asked.

"I don't know, should I?" Clint chuckled again. "I haven't had much practice at this parenting thing!"

He couldn't not smile slightly at that. "Well, I haven't had much practice at being someone's kid. So we're even."

"I guess we are."

Aleks shadowed Natasha from the roof of the building.

"Why did you want me?"

Natasha barely allowed her breath to catch. "I want you Aleks, because you are my daughter. I loved you before I even knew you. I know what you've been through better than anyone else. I know what the Room did to you – what they've done to us."

There was a pause. "That means a lot…_mama_, but I was actually just wondering why you asked for me instead of your partner."

Natasha heard the unspoken question. _Why wouldn't you want your partner?_

"Clint knows that I pick him every day of the week. But today we wanted you and Luka to feel that we both want you. For you, not because you are or aren't like us."

Aleks chuckled. "We totally are."

Natasha grinned as she lined up the team walking towards her position. Unawares. "Aleks, you have no idea…"

-ooo-

Aleks always felt odd after a big fight. She hadn't been in that many – just like she told the others, she and Luka were usually pulled out before all-out war – but there was a certain stillness to them. Quiet, because no one had the energy to do much more than stay alive. She sensed Luka coming up behind her, and allowed him to pull her in close. His thumb brushed her cheek bone; her forehead rested on his chin. It was their own way of knowing that each other was still alive. Still together.

Luka looked up when he heard a noise and saw a whole team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents streaming towards them.

"Get down on the ground!" the leader screamed.

Luka and Aleks both knew they were still holding their weapons close but neither were ready to put them down.

"Get down on the ground now!" the armed leader repeated.

Captain America stepped towards Luka. "These two are not the problem, soldier," he began, but the team swarmed past him and surrounded Aleks and Luka, guns directed straight at their chests.

"Wait!" Natasha cried. She strode towards the team leader. Only the Avengers could tell how much she was reigning herself in.

"Black Widow," the leader acknowledged.

"What are your orders, Captain?" she asked.

"Direct from the WSC themselves: restrain the captives 01648 and 01649 and return them to the Helicarrier for further testing and evaluation."

"_That's code for interrogation and torture,_" Tony said quietly through the comms.

"Surrender your weapons and drop to the ground!" the leader called again.

Luka and Aleks stood side by side. Their weapons might have been pointing down but everything about them screamed readiness.

"You might think you can fight your way out," said the man, "But there are enough of us ready that you will both be dead before you get a shot off. Surrender."

Luka and Aleks still didn't respond. Without a word, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team pounced on them, wrestling them to the ground and pinning their arms behind them.

Only once Luka and Aleks were bound tightly did the agents look up. And they saw the Avengers surrounding them, weapons raised and ready.

"Why are you arresting our team mates?" Captain America glared.

"Just following orders, sir," the leader repeated. "These Russian bastards are too new to trust. They'll just be brought in and out when they're needed. They gotta go back to lock up now." With that, he started directing his team to haul Aleks and Luka off to their transport.

Clint saw the flash of pain go across the faces of both his kids. The last thing he wanted for them was to be used by S.H.I.E.L.D. just like they had been used by the Red Room.

Natasha saw the resignation. Luka and Aleks hated everything that was happening to them, but they would always face it head on.

Steve saw Clint and Natasha readying themselves, and he knew that they would incapacitate the entire team to get their children back.

"Agent Sitwell," he called. Everyone turned to see the Agent walking towards them after starting clean up on the other side of the compound. "Can you explain why two of our allies are being treated worse than the invading army?"

"_Well played, Cap_" he heard Tony say.

Agent Sitwell didn't even blink. "Council's orders?" he asked the team leader. Without waiting for a response, he continued. "Gamma Unit, you are needed urgently on the other side. It is possible that enemy agents escaped back into the wilderness and you need to track them down." He turned back to the Avengers, effectively dismissing the team.

"But sir," the leader started.

"Previous orders have been transferred," Sitwell replied, without turning around. The team jogged off, leaving Luka and Aleks on the ground. Sitwell bent down and started removing their bonds.

"As Chief Field Officer, I am instigating new transfer orders," he said. "You will be escorted back to the Helicarrier by Strike Team Delta, who were called here in response to the attack. They will accompany you from there to new quarters, as your previous ones are no longer up to code."

"Up to code?" Thor asked.

Sitwell shrugged. "It'll do for now. Widow, Hawkeye, you guys alright to take your Quinjet home?"

Natasha nodded. "See you back at base, Sitwell."

Clint brushed past him. "Thanks," he said softly.

Sitwell grinned. "They're part of the team now."

Clint sat down in the pilot's chair for the flight back to New York. Natasha sat down next to him and gestured for Clint and Luka to sit down behind them. Tony and Thor had both announced they were racing back to the Tower. Steve stuck his head into the cockpit.

"Bruce and I are taking a nap on the way home," he said.

"And if I get woken up I'll go green," Bruce's voice carried through.

Clint hid a grin. In their own ways, all his team mates were giving them time together, just the four of them.

He began the takeoff procedures.

"So, I hear you're part of the team now?"

**Thanks to everyone who's sticking with me. Ani-maniac494, Lollypops101 and Katerinaki, your reviews keep me going! Also thanks to HeartofFyrwinde, xxxxSpesh. , ILoveIceCream, AllMyLifes, TroublesomeRedHead, StainedGlassFlowers101, cherry1122, syrensls, Ginerva not Virginia and luxetverita for favouriting and following since the last chapter.**


	26. Chapter 26

The ride home was in silence except for the whirr of the engines underneath them. It wasn't until Clint brought the Quinjet to a stop on the top of Avengers Tower that Luka and Aleks finally forced themselves to verbalise what they'd been thinking the whole time.

"You said before, you haven't had practice parenting," Luka started. "I would have thought you would have already had kids by now."

Natasha looked at her toes. Clint leaned over to gently nudge her side.

"Because you're happy together, you say you want to be parents but you're not. Why do you want us?"

Clint had sensed this question during his and Luka's conversation earlier. It must seem strange that two adults – seemingly happy without a family - would suddenly accept having teenagers.

Natasha swallowed thickly. "The Red Room prevented me from ever having children biologically. I have had more years than you've been alive to come to terms with that. Clint knew that kids would never be an option for us."

"It was something we tried not to think about," Clint said. "But then we found out about the two of you, and…"

"You have to understand," Natasha interrupted. "I have gone through my entire life knowing that I was the only one like me on the planet. I had no family, no one who was actually like me. When I met your father, both of us understood the other more than anyone else but we were still two totally unique individuals. No one else could appreciate who we are. And then, out of the blue, you two appear and suddenly there are two people who look like us, think like us, act like us. You understand what it's like."

Aleks was examining her boots. "We always had each other. No matter where we ended up or what we were doing we were always together. Even when the other trainees or agents tried to beat us up because you were our parents, there was always two of us."

"Now there's four of us."

Aleks and Luka both jumped at Clint's firm statement.

"Now there's four of us," he repeated. "We can do this. Whatever 'this' is going to look like."

Luka and Aleksandra shared a quick look.

_I want this, more than anything._

_… I think I do too._

_Told you so._

"Unfortunately, 'the four of us' sometimes has some added extras," Natasha said loudly. She pushed the button to open the hold door to reveal the rest of the Avengers. Bruce looked sheepish, Thor looked curious and Steve looked like he might have been dragged against his will. But of course Tony waltzed in ready for anything.

"Added extras included with no charge," he said, "Only cause it's you."

Clint rolled his eyes. "Gee thanks."

"But seriously, part of the family means you need somewhere to stay. I should get my lawyers onto that dump they had you in on the Helicarrier. Hawklet you're going to love the sniper range I've got set up for your old man. Spider-boy – and yes, I know that's derivative – there's a full close combat training gym just below your floor. I'm thinking a pair of bedrooms, down the hall from Assassin Central…"

Steve jumped in before it was too late for his teammate. He wasn't sure who would try and kill Tony first – Clint was reaching for his bow at the 'old man' comment, Luka's mouth had twitched at his nickname, and Natasha's eyes had flashed as soon as Tony opened his mouth. Aleksandra looked like she was laughing at least on some level, but Steve guessed she was like Clint in that she enjoyed watching everyone else's reactions.

"Those were indeed kind words of welcome, Tony Stark," Thor said loudly. Steve reaslised he had also gotten caught up watching everyone else and Thor had decided Tony was worth saving. If only to keep a roof over their heads and pop tarts in the pantry.

"But I think the Bartons… Romanoffs… Agents would appreciate time to tend to their wounds and get used to the Tower."

Steve knew as well as all the other Avengers that Natasha and Clint would only allow each other to patch them up after a battle; he assumed Luka and Aleks were the same. But without knowing what kind of environment they were used to, he figured they would find it easier to adjust to life in Avengers Tower if they just started on Clint and Natasha's floor. Assassin Central indeed…

Assassin Central… If Stark hadn't ruined it but making him feel old, Clint would have laughed. If Natasha wasn't right there fuming. If he didn't have a sneaking suspicion that Aleks was also laughing at him.

Damn Tony Stark.

Except his offer of rooms and equipment especially designed for his kids was Tony Stark down to a T. A large, gold, boldly-illuminated T sure, but it was the person that he only showed to people he cared about. And somehow he cared about Clint and Natasha's kids. Clint sighed. As if his life wasn't already complicated enough…

**I've had this done for a while but was trying to make it longer by joining some sections together. As you can see I finally decided to actually post something rather than just pointlessly beating my writer's block over the head with a stick. **

**Thanks again to Lollypops101, Ani-maniac494 and TheConverseKid for reviewing! Welcome along to new favouriters and followers luxetverita, Forbidden, shila1378, televisionluver, FanFicCrazyX, newyorklover, SavingViolets, JustAGirlsCuz, amillionthanks, annettechanelle1 and Rennier!**


	27. Chapter 27

Natasha looked across the elevator at Aleks and Luka. Neither of them had said anything since they got off the Quinjet on the roof of Stark Tower. Luka caught her watching them in the mirrored walls, and gave her a weak smile. She twitched one in return then looked away quickly, but inside she was beaming. Just that acknowledgement meant everything.

Tony strode out of the elevator as soon as it reached the Avenger's main floor.

"So this is home," he gestured. "JARVIS, Hawklet and … Redback – is that any better? – will be joining the team as of right now."

"Very good sir."

To their credit, Aleks and Luka only jumped slightly when the AI's voice came out of the walls.

"If it makes you feel better, I couldn't talk to JARVIS for weeks," Steve put in helpfully.

"JARVIS?" Luka asked weakly.

"Tony's um, computer," Steve tried. Tony winced. "It controls pretty much everything, and does… well…"

Tony tapped his feet impatiently. "JARVIS can organise whatever you need and keeps my stuff safe," he said quickly. "But he's not the best part of the tour – which I will continue to give unless I am once again interrupted."

"Tony," a lady with red hair said as she walked in from the other side of the room. "Why don't you just take them straight up to Clint and Natasha's floor – you can show them the rest later."

Tony pouted, but Luka sighed in relief. He just wanted the day to stop. He thought he saw Natasha relax too.

"That would be perfect Pepper," Clint said gratefully.

"Fine," Tony grumbled. "Pep, this is…"

"Luka and Aleksandra," Pepper smiled, then stopped. "I probably shouldn't know your names yet, should I?"

Aleks was about to offer something – she liked the look of Pepper – but Bruce stepped in with a grin.

"Let's not pretend we haven't all been talking about Luka and Aleks since we first heard about them."

Luka offered a soft smile to the scientist. It had already been said, but it was still good to hear that the whole team wanted them.

Aleks felt like if she thought too hard about everything she'd seen so far her head would explode. So instead she just nodded whenever Tony pointed out another feature that he thought was 'essential', made sure she checked the escape routes and held on until she could crash somewhere next to Luka.

"And finally, here we are," Tony gestured dramatically. Aleks realised a beat too late he was hoping for some sort of reaction, but he shrugged. "You can appreciate my awesomeness tomorrow when you've had a bit of rest."

"Sure," she replied weakly.

He opened the last door and Aleks got her first glimpse at her new – actually the only one she'd ever had – bedroom. It was larger than the space she and Luka had shared back in Russia, with a large bed on the far wall, a chest of drawers and – she was amused to see – several weapons lockers built into another wall. But the main thing she loved was the huge windows looking out over the city. She could see all the lights flickering across the night sky, and the safety she always felt at being high up came flooding back.

"I took the liberty of putting a bathroom between yours and Luka's rooms so you can always get through to each other – but I can give you each your own if you'd prefer."

Aleks finally looked directly at Tony. "No, thanks this is perfect. Really."

She was sure that she received a genuine smile in return. "All part of the package, kid. FYI, that vent is mainly for your dad, but I'm sure you'll get plenty of use out of it. I didn't even bother putting cameras in here, because I knew one of you would disable them as soon as I left. But JARVIS still has sensors and speakers to help you."

Tony finally left while Aleks was still stammering her thanks. She could have looked around the room for hours, but instead she went towards the bathroom door Tony had indicated. She took in the blur of shiny white surfaces quickly before knocking gently on Luka's door. At his murmur she opened it to see her brother lying back on his bed.

"_Comfy_?" she grinned.

"_Could be softer,_" he joked back.

"_You're worried about something,_" she said more seriously.

"_I'm older – that's my job._"

Aleks knew that he was still trying to make light of things because he didn't know what to think. She moved over at sat on the bed next to him.

"They wanted something," Aleks said bluntly. "Whoever captured us was plying us for information and I'm sure they won't just sit on it now. There's nothing we can do about that at the moment. But I do know that having a whole team of superheroes behind us can't hurt."

"But we don't know…"

"If you imply that they might leave us again, Luka, I promise I will hang you upside down outside the Tower."

"I thought you agreed that Spider-boy was derivative?"

Aleks sighed, but at least she had made her point.

Clint sighed in unison with his daughter. A part of him felt bad about spying on Luka and Aleks so soon, but he justified it by telling himself he needed to check that they were settling in OK.

Aleks' comments about what the Council had done to them prodded the anger he had buried weeks ago. He still had to find who authorized what happened and… discuss it with them.

And he had to consider what would happen when his kids discovered that the facility they were being held captive in was also a SHIELD location. Should he tell them or hope they don't find out…

**School holidays means another chapter! **

**Thanks ****once again ****to Ani-maniac494 for a really encouraging review! And also to new favouriters/followers XxSeLeNAxX, frostedgoddess, jjchickybabe and BlossomHunt.**


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